
PRICE ONE DOLLAR 



Western 
Poultry Book 



by 



MRS. A. BASLEY 



TELLS YOU WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT 
THE CHICKEN BUSINESS FROM FIRST TO LAST 

WITH 

Questions and Answers 

Relative to Up - to - date Poultry Culture 



Published by 

MRS. A. BASLEY 

Los Angeles, California 



THIRD EDITION 



PRICE ONE DOLLAR 



The Segnogram Press 

Los Angeles 

1912 




INTRODUCTION 



In the hope of helping beginners and others of my friends in the poultry 
business, and in response to urgent requests for a book on poultry culture from 
my pen, I wrote a small volume three years ago. The whole edition was sold in 
a year, and on account of the interest taken in it and the demand for some- 
thing more, a second edition was issued. This edition is now exhausted and 
a third edition is now offered, with additional chapters and up-to-date in- 
formation on breeding, tireless brooders, and other new features in the poultry 
industry. 

The book is a synopsis of many chapters of my "Woman's Work in the 
Poultry Yard" and other talks on poultry, and embodies the personal, practical 
experiences I have been through myself in many years of pleasant work in 
the poultry yard. Its object is not necessarily to urge anyone into the business, 
but to encourage and help beginners and especially newcomers, not back East 
but on the great Pacific Coast and in the Western States, where conditions 
differ materially from those in the East and where there is an increasingly 
large demand for both poultry and eggs ; where the poultry business is about 
as profitable as any that can be undertaken and a good living may be made 
in the pure air and sunshine by any industrious man or woman. 

Having for many years been lecturer at the Farmers' Institutes in the 
Extension Courses of the University of California, for four years instructor in 
poultry husbandry at the poultry school of the University of California, and 
having been editor or associate editor of four agricultural magazines and sev- 
eral other newspapers on the Pacific Coast, many questions have during this 
time been propounded to me relating to the poultry business, its difficulties, the 
troubles of poultry raisers and the ailments of fowls. Some of these questions 
will be found in this book with the answers to them, also remedies for the dis- 
eases or ills of fowls in this climate. 

Hoping and feeling sure that my little book, which is the only book deal- 
ing with the climatic and other conditions "Out West," may prove a help to all 
its readers, I am, 

Very cordially your friend, 




gCI.A319559 






SEP 4 




White 
Winner 



Orpington Hen. 
at Los Angeles. 



Phone 54451. 



Utility Fancy 

HI • White Wyandottes 

US K1HS White Orpingtons 

Eight years of breeding showing, and 
winning at Los Angeles and other big 
shows in California prove the high qual- 
ity of my stock. Careful attention given 
to the utility qualities and vigor of my 
birds. 

Prices of eggs for hatching : 

Utility matings $3.00 per 15 eggs 

Special matings 5.00 per 15 eggs 

Extra special matings 10.00 per 15 eggs 

K '»- ^Arthur W.JHuskins 

713 Waterloo St. Los Angeles, Cal. 



THE RURAL CALIFORNIAN 



A Poultry Magazine 

Worthy of the Name. 

Valuable to the Fancier 

And to the Utility Man. 

Up-to-date — interesting — 

And decidedly worth while, 

Not only to the man with poultry 

But to the Stockman, the 

Small Farmer, 

Fruit and berry raiser, 

The maker of the home garden 

And the housewife. 

It grows in favor with every issue — write for sample copy". 

THE RURAL CALIFORNIAN 

115 N. Broadway, Los Angeles. 



r, 



CAMPINE 

Silver and Golden 

THE BUSINESS BIRD 
EVERLASTING LAYERS 




THE COMING 
THE 



FOWL ON 



PACIFIC COAST 
STOCK AND EGGS IN 
SEASON. WRITE WANTS 

N. E. LUCE 



748 Ottawa Street 



Los Angeles 




QUALITY 

White Plymouth Rocks 

A SPECIALTY 

The GRANDEST UTILITY and 
FANCY Breed on record today. 
They are the Big Winter Layers, 
quick growing, and make the finest 
Broilers of any breed known. 

E. S. LAWYER 

Yards : Alhambra, Cal. 

Office: 519 Germain Bldg. 

Los Angeles, Cal. 




"Big Ben" 

First Cockerel, Watsonville, Cal 
State Show, Oct. 1911. 



L. M. GRIDEFVS 

"BIRDLAND" 

(Trade-Mark) 

Importer and dealer in Song and Fancy Canaries, Talking Parrots, 
Birds for Aviaries and Collections, Goldfish, Aquaria, Cages, Seeds, 
Foods, Remedies, etc., of Every description and the Best Only. 
Ornamental Land Water Fowl, Dogs, Squirrels, Monkeys, Etc. 

Come and see them. No admission fee. 

130 1-11 Central Avenue. Phone Main 3451. 



Our City Store: 



216 Mercantile Place. 



Tel. Main 2169. 



Los Angeles, Cal, 






Mrs. A. Basley 



Copyright 1912 by 
Mrs. A. Basley 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Common Sense Poultry Houses 9 

What Variety to Choose 18 

Eggs for Breeding 27 

Eggs for Market = 30 

Sprouting Oats 34 

Feeding Problem 35 

Sample Rations 43 

Feeding Alfalfa 47 

Breeding-in-line 49 

When to Hatch 56 

Fertile Eggs 60 

Testing Eggs for Incubation '. 62 

Natural Incubation 65 

Artificial Incubation 70 

Care nf Brooder Chicks 75 

Firfeicrfs Brooder 80 

White Diarrhoea in Brooder Chicks 82 

Vigor : 84 

One-Day-Old Chick Trade 88 

Broiler Ranches 93 

Summer Work 90 

Trap-Nest 94 

Grit and Gizzard • 98 

Pests of Poultry Yard 101 

Diseases of Poultry (Roup) : 104 

Town Lot Fowls : 108 

Moulting Season Ill 

Value of Economy 1 1 5 

Preserving Eggs 119 

Capons ., 122 

Turkeys and How to Raise Them 126 

Ducks and Their Varieties 139 

Geese 149 

Pheasants ■ 152 

Guinea Fowl 153 

Canaries 155 

Basley Formulas 159 

Questions and Answers 161 

Cause and Cure of Sickness 162 

Lice, Mites, Ticks and Worms 180 

Feeding in General 185 

Egg Question 191 

Hatching with Incubator and Hen 194 

Yard Room 199 

Mating and Breeding 200 

Miscellaneous Questions 201 

Turkey Questions 206 

About Ducks and Geese 21 1 



CLASSIFIED INDEX 



A 

Acute Indigestion 169 

Age for Mating 200 

Air Puff -•- 162 

Airing Eggs in Incubator 194 

Alfalfa for Food - 47 

American Class 19 

Analysis of Hen and Egg — 32 

Analysis of Beans 44-45 

Animal Food - - 186 

Analysis of Foods and Grains -—36-37 

Apoplexy 162 

Artificial Incubation 70-74 

Asiatic and English Classes - 21 

Aylesbury Ducks -- 140 

B 

Bad Meat 186 

Balanced Ration 36-110 

Bald Head 163 

Basley Formulas 159-160 

Beans, Feeding 43 

Bedbugs 101 

Beef Scrap - 186 

Beet Tops 186 

Blind Chicks 163 

Blood Meal 186 

Blood Spots in Eggs 192 

Breeds and Classes - - 18 

Breeding-in-line, etc. - 49-2C0 

Breeding Chart I. K. Felch 53 

Breeding Chart Mrs. F. Metcalf 55 

Breeding Ducks — 147 

Breathing Difficulty 168 

Broiler Ranches 93 

Broilers, Ration for - 39 

Broken Glass and China for Grit -189 

Brooders, Painting 202 

Brooders, Fireless 80-199-204 

Brooder Chicks, Care of 75-198 

Broken-Down Hens - 205 

Bronchitis 107-162 

Buff Orpington Ducks 143 

Bumble-foot 162 

Burglar Alarm - - 200 

c 

Canaries 155-158 

Cancer - - - 163 

Canker 105-106-163 

Cannibalism -164 

Capons 122-201 

Capons as Mothers 124 

Catarrh 104-165 

Cat and Hawk Proof Coop 151 

Caponizing 122 

Castor Bean Bushes 201 

Charts for Breeding 53-55 



Chicks Dead in Shell 194 

Chicken Pox :... 164 

Choosing Eggs for Hatching - 29 

Colony Houses — - - 9-16 

Comb, Discolored 165 

Comb, White - 165 

Common Sense Poultry Houses 9-17 

Composition of Hen and Egg 32 

Congestion of Liver - 171 

Cold in the Head 104-164 

Corns on Feet 162 

Cough and Sneeze - 165 

Crippled Chicks 194 

Crop Bound 166 

Crop Pendulous — - 174 

Crude Oil 202 

D 

Diarrhoea 82 

Different Breeds 18 

Dipping for Lice ----- 180-204 

Diphtheritic Roup 105-167 

Diseases of Poultry 104-162 

Douglas Mixture : 159 

Dropsy - 179 

Dry Feed System 36 

Dry Hopper Method 92-187 

Dry Mash 187 

Depluming Mites - 182 

Ducks ----- - - 24-139-210 

Duck Eggs versus Hen Eg?s 210 

Ducks Need Grit - 98-145 

Ducks, Died in the Shell 212 

Ducks, Feeding for Eggs 211 

Ducks, Weight - - 211 

Ducks, Incubator - 210 

Ducks, Indigestion r -210 

Ducks, Muscovy 25-143-145 

Ducks, to. Secure Fertility 210 

Ducks, Rations for 145-210-211 

E 

Economy in Different Ways 115 

Egg, Analysis of — -"■ — - 32 

Egg Bound - - 191 

Egg, Eating, Hens - 193 

Eggs, Testing 62-73 

Eggs for Breeding - 27 

Eggs for Hatching 29-191-196 

Eggs for Market, How to Get 30-193 

Eggs, Thin Shell 192-203 

Eggs, 200 a Year 30 

Exercise 31-187 

Eyes, Swollen and Water 178 

F 

Fattening Fowls 41 

Fatty Degeneration of Liver 167 



Feather Pulling 168 

Feeding Chicks 38-39 

Fattening Turkeys 137 

Feeding Beans - 43 

Feeding Problem 33 

Feeding for Fertility 28 

Feeding for Color 114 

Feeding During Moult* — ----- -112 

Feeding Ducks 144-146-211 

Feeding in General 185 

Feeding for Market — - - 38 

Feeding, for Young and Old 187 

Feeding, What and How 187-189 

Feeding Turkeys , 128 

Fertile Eggs - 60 

Fleas ----- 101-181 

Flea Powder, Cheap 102 

Formula for Chick Feed - 105-150 

Formula, Laying Hen Food 109-159 

Formulas, Basley, Tested 159 

Formula, Government, Lice 103 

Formula, Govt. Spray or Paint 103 

Feeding System - 185 

From Far-Away Alaska -202 

Fooling the Hen - 195 

Food, Good and Bad for Ducks 210 

Food Elements - - 35 

Formulas, Feeding, etc. 205 

French, Hamburg, Polish Classes 22 

G 
Game Class - 23 

Geese, Varieties - 25-150-212 

Grain, How Much to Feed 189 

Green Food -- 189-190 

Grit and Gizzard 98 

Grit, Starved for Lack of - 99 

Geese, Hatching and Feeding 149-212 

Geese, Toulouse 149 

Guinea Fowls - 153 

H 

Hatch, When to - 56 

Hatching, Poor Hatches 194 

Hatching and Brooding Ducks 144 

Hatching Turkey Eggs 209 

Hatching Ducks - - 144 

Head Lice 181 

Heart Trouble - 168 

Helping the Hatch 195 

Hemorrhage of the Oviduct 168 

Hens, Rations for a Dozen 40 

Hen-Pecked Husbands 202 

Heredity 30 

Hopper Feeding 38-92-187 

Houses — - - —9-17 

Houses, on Town Lot 1C9 

How Many on Two Acres, on Five— .199 

How to Make Nests - 65 

How Much to Feed —189 

How Long Before Laying - 203 

I 

Incubation, Artificial 70-74 

Incubation With Hens —65-197 



Incubators, to Disinfect 83 

Incubators, Trouble With 197-198 

Incubation, Testing Eggs for 62 

Incubator Chicks Dying - 196 

Indigestion 196 

Indigestion and Liver Complaint 168 

Instrument for Testing Eggs 2C6 

Indian Runner Ducks — - 142 

Infertility 194 

Inflammation of Crop - 169 

Inflammation of Liver - 171 

Insecticide - 103-182 

Insects - - 101 

K 

Kaffir Corn - .". 191 

Keeping Eggs for Setting - - 29 

Kerosene Emulsion — 102-159 



Lack of Oxygen - - 194 

Lame Hen 162 

Largest White Eggs — — - 193 

Layers - - - — 205 

Laying Hens, Ration for — - 39 

Leg Weakness - — 169 

Lice - —102-103-180-181 

Lice Eggs on Hens Feather 103 

Limber Neck —170 

Lime for Preserving Eggs - 121 

Liver Disease .- -170-171 

Liver Complaint in Turkeys-— v — 209 

Liver Enlarged - 167 

Liver Trouble or Poison 170 

Location of Incubator 71 

M 

Male Bird 28-205 

Manure 204 

Marking Chicks - - 68 

Market Eggs ----- - 30 

Market, Feeding for ----- 41-42 

Mash Svstem ..........36-187 

Mating 29 

Mating and Breeding — 200 

Meat, Bad - - - 186 

Mediterranean Class 20 

Millet Seed -' - 190 

Mites - - 101-182 

Mixing Foods -- 188 

More About Turkeys 134 

Moult - - —..Ill 

Mushroom Houses - - 12 

Muscovy Ducks 143-148 

Mildew Poison - 174 

Methods of Feeding — - 36 

N 

Naked Chicks - - 171 

Natural Incubation —-65-197 

Nests for Setting — 65 

O 

Oats Sprouting - - 32 

One-Day-Old Chicks - 88 

Orpington Breeds - 22 



Ovarian Tumor 171 

Over Fat Hens - 172 

Oriental Class 24 

P 

Packing Eggs for Hatching 206 

Painting Houses 26 

Painting Brooders 202 

Pekin Ducks - 141 

Pendulous Crop 172 

Pests of a Poultry Yard 101 

Pheasants 152 

Poison 173-174 

Polish Class 22 

Protecting Chicks 92 

Proper Range 82 

Preserving Eggs 119 

Pip - 174 

Pneumonia 175 

Ptomaine Poison 173 

Pullets Dying 167 

Pulling Feathers 168 

Q 

Questions and Answers 161 

R 

Range - 82 

Rations 38-39-187 

Rations of Successful Breeders 40 

Rations for One Hundred Hens 41 

Records, Keeping 66 

Rheumatism 175 

Rheumatism of Feet 175 

Roasters, Breeds for 26 

Roosting, Teaching - 92 

Rouen Ducks 142 

Roup 104-175-177 

Roup Remedies 105-106 

Roupy Catarrh 104 

S 

Sand Fleas 181 

Scaley Legs 177 

Scratching Pens 31-187 

Selection of Breed 18-26 

Setting Hens 66 

Shipping Turkeys 209 

Shipping Young Chicks - 201 

Sickness, Cause and Cure 162 

Skim Milk 190 

Sneeze — - - - - 165 

Soft Shelled Eggs 203 

Sick Chicks - 166 

Sore Eyes — — —178 

vSpoiled Food 117 

Spray for Houses 103-185 



Spurs, to Remove 171-203 

Stuck Up Behind 83 

Stick Tight Fleas 181 

Sudden Death 193 

Summer Work 90 

Swelled Head - 178 

Swelled Eyes 178 

Symptoms of Grit? Craving 90 

T 

Tapeworm in Turkey 209 

Teaching Chicks to Roost - 92 

Technical Names - 202 

Testing Eggs, for Incubator 62-63 

Thermometer 63-195 

Testing Out Infertile Eggs - ■- 206 

Ticks 102-182 

Toe Eating 178 

Tomatoes 187-206 

Town Lot Fowls 108 

Trap- Nest _ 94 

Tuberculosis 179 

Tumor and Dropsy 179 

Turkey Questions -—206 

Turkeys - 26-126-204-206-208 

How to Raise 126 

How Many Toms - 209 

Lame 206 

Keep Separate 207 

Over-fed Little Ones - - 129 

Keep Liver Healthy 131 

Chicken Pox 206-208 

Greed Food, Lack of 208 

Blackhead Disease 134 

Liver Complaint - 135-209 

Turkey Sick, Gobbler - 208 

Turning Eggs - 72 

V 

Value of Economy 115 

Varieties of Ducks - 24-139 

Vigor Necessary 84 

Vent Gleet 179 

W 

Warts on Comb and Eyes 164 

Water Glass 119 

Weights of Ducks 211 

White Comb 165-179 

White Diarrhoea 82 

Whitewash for Houses 16 

Wind in Crop - 180 

Worms - 167-183-184-185 

Y 

Yard, Plan of 109 

Yard Room 199-200 




Mrs. Basi.ev's Continuous Fresh Air House and Scratching Shed. 

PART I. 



COMMON SENSE POULTRY HOUSES 



The poultry business is one of the most fascinating as well as the 
most profitable, considering the amount of capital invested, in the 
-West.' The conditions here, however, differ so greatly to those 
in the East and other localities, that the ways of treating the fowls 
must also be different. The needs of fowls do not vary; the re- 
sources of the places do, and the success of the poultry raiser 
greatly depends upon adapting the conditions of the locality to the 
need of the fowls. 

Nothing is more important than the proper housing of chickens. 
The style of house a man builds for his birds will depend upon his 
means and inclinations. It is not always the most expensive house 
that gives the most eggs. In planning poultry houses and yards, 
two or three principles should be firmly held in mind : First, the 
house must have a liberal supply of oxygen, which can only be 
supplied by perfect ventilation ; secondly, it must be free from 
draughts and be dry, and, thirdly, be easily accessible to the at- 
tendant, not only for cleaning and spraying, but to enable one to 
handle the fowls when on the perches. It should also be large 
enough to avoid crowding of the fowls. 

The laying hens should be kept in yards in permanent houses, 
easy of access, whilst the young and growing fowls will do best on 
free range with movable houses, called sometimes colony houses. 
These give the best results. 

After many years of experience here, the writer has found that 
there are two classes of houses admirably adapted to the needs of 
the fowls and to this climate. These are called the open front or 
the "fresh air" house and the "mushroom" house. What is meant 
by an open front house, is a house enclosed on three sides and roof, 
with one side open to the fresh air. This style house can be con- 
structed as a separate and movable house or as a continuous and 



10 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 




W. G. Suit's Double Open-front Houses and Scratching Shed, Bandini 

Ranch. 



scratching shed house. A plain open front house without a scratch- 
ing shed attached, is used in many places as a colony house where 
fowls have free range or where they are kept in an orchard. 

The "mushroom" house is built tight on four sides and roof, 
without any floor, and is raised from the ground about twelve 
inches. 

Cuts of both of these styles of houses will serve to show their 
construction. 

A "fresh air" house that proved excellent and which I used for 
years on my ranch, was one hundred and twenty feet long and ten 
feet wide. It was divided into six houses with scratching pens. I 
also had another which suited me well. It was eight feet wide and 
a hundred feet long; besides that, I had twenty colony houses for 
the young and growing stock, and two brooder houses. 

The continuous house and scratching shed of which I give a 
photograph and part of ground plan were built of flooring, tongued 
and grooved. 

The other house was of boards, battened, and the colony houses 
of resawed redwood or of shakes. Some were of rubberoid or 
building paper. 

Many of the artistic looking house plans which may be found in 
poultry books were planned by men who never owned a chicken, 
and if built in this, or in any other climate, would be highly unsatis- 
factory. The plans here described have all been used either by 
myself or by successful poultry raisers. I have seen them all and 
can assuredly recommend them for -use on the Pacific Coast. 



COMMON SENSE POULTRY HOUSES 



11 




Continuous House and Scratching Shed. 

The houses I am describing are of the inexpensive kind, for so 
great is the variety of plans of houses designed for fowls that it 
would be impossible to mention them all in a short article. We will, 



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12 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



therefore, consider only a few of the cheapest and most satisfactory 
small houses adapted to this climate. 

The first requisite in the house is pure air. To secure this the 
ventilation must be at the bottom. Some people think that the 
bad air ascends, but this has been proved a mistake — the foul gases 
descend ; the pure air and the warm air are lighter, and they rise 
and we want to keep them in, but if we have an opening for ven- 
tilation at the top or near the top of the house, we lose the 
warmth. A loss of warmth at night in the winter means a loss of 
eggs, or more food is needed to supply this loss. The ventilation 
should either be at the bottom, or one entire side of the house 
should be left open. 




j"lV5>fROOM M.OV3C V3£t> IN" CALIFORMav 



A Variety of Houses 

The accompanying rough little cut of a "mushroom" house will 
give some idea of the bottom ventilation. Houses like this were 
used by a successful poultryman. He made a light frame five feet 
square and five feet high. This he covered with canvas and the 
roof he made of rubberoid roofing. He left a space below of ten or 
twelve inches. These "mushroom" houses were tipped over every 
day to be sunned or cleaned. I improved upon his plan by making 
a door of one whole side, for I wanted to be able to handle my fowls 
at night without tipping the house over. Perches should be placed 
about twelve inches above the open space, and in case of heavy 
breeds, a small ladder or run board should be placed for them to 
reach the perches easily when going to roost. The advantages of 
such a house are its lightness and the free circulation of air without 
draughts on the fowls. These houses can be covered with matched 
lumber, shakes, canvas, burlap, rubberoid, or even common domestic 
muslin, which may be oiled or painted with crude petroleum. 

The open front house is admirably adapted to California climate. 
It is now meeting with favor even in the rigorous climate of the 
East, where poultry raisers begin to realize the value of fresh air 
without draughts, if they want to have vigorous hens that will lay 



COMMON SENSE POULTRY HOUSES 
16 x 4-9 in. 



13 




4 -ft. 

Goodacre's "Make-sure" Coop. 



eggs in the winter time. I have been using the open front houses 
of various sizes for over twelve years, and can assert that they are 
the only kind I ever want to use. Another style open front house 
that I have seen and like very much is fifteen feet by eleven feet six 
inches, and is seven feet high at the back and four feet at the open 
front. It is constructed of rubberoid or malthoid and is almost 
vermin proof. It is divided in the middle by chicken wire, so form- 
ing either one house or two as required. The roof is first covered 



- ■ 




<*■•»-. i. 



Goodacre's Colony Coop, 



14 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



with two-inch chicken wire to support the rubberoid. At the bot- 
tom of the walls, next to the ground, it is boarded up for about two 
feet all the way round; this is to keep in the straw, for all the floor 
space of the house is used as a scratching" pen. The sides and back 
above these boards are made of panels of rubberoid, nailed to light 
frames without the chicken wire. These panels are taken down on 
all fine days to sun and air the house. The panels are kept in place 
by large wooden buttons. The front is entirely open or only closed 
by chicken wire, except when it rains, then a burlap curtain is let 
down. The perches are near the back of the house, about six inches 
above the dropping boards. The dropping boards are made of the 
rubberoid on frames. They are four feet wide and are placed on 
cleats two feet from the floor. This is a double house and each 
side will hold from twelve to twenty hens. The above description 
is of the Hoffman house. 




/SIT. 

Hoffman's Combination Open-front House and Scratching Pen 



A cheap and substantial house can be made of two piano boxes. 
The simplest way to make such a house is as follows : Removing 
the backs of the piano cases, place the cases back to back thirty 
inches apart, on light sills. Use the boards which were the backs 
to fill up the thirty inches on the sides and roof; cover the roof 
with rubberoid or with oilcloth, and you have a comfortable house, 
that will hold about a dozen or twenty hens, at a small cost. The 
front of the piano box house should either be hinged so it can 
always be kept open, except during the rain, or it may be entirely 
dispensed with and a burlap curtain used to keep out the rain. The 
cost of this piano box house is about three dollars. 

Inexpensive Colony Houses 

An inexpensive colony house is pictured below. This house 
is of resawed redwood, four by six feet. It is light and easily moved. 



COMMON SENSE POULTRY HOUSES 



IS 



The front is" on hinges and it is always kept open except during rain, 
and when it is closed it only comes down six inches below the 
perches, leaving an open space of about fifteen inches across the 
entire front. 




Open-front Colony House Without Scratching Shed. 

Still another style of colony house and one well adapted for use 
in an orchard or in the colony plan has been in use for some years 
on a large poultry ranch in California. The house is eight by ten 
feet and two feet to the eaves ; all the framework, including the 
runners, is of two by three-inch stuff, and the walls and ends are 
of one by twelve-inch boards, shiplapped so as to avoid using bat- 
tens. The rafters are five feet four inches long, and three pairs 
are used ; a one by six inch strip is run all around the outside of the 
roof to form the eaves and also to make it tight ; eight pieces of 
one by four are used for sheathing, and the sawed shakes are close, 
so that there is no draught from that source ; the only opening is 
from the front, which is open at all times. The houses do not 
require cleaning, for they are on runners, and are slid along about 
fifteen feet each time. Thus they are on fresh ground and much 
cleaner than one could do it in any other manner. 




Goodacre's "Make-sure" Coop in Action. 



16 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



The Two-Story House 

Among the hen houses, or chicken coops, as some people prefer 
to call them, that are being- used very satisfactorily west of the 
Rockies, must be mentioned the two-story houses. These are 
especially adapted to the "intensive" method of poultry culture, and 
for limited space. 

In conclusion, to quote Mr. Harker, "If every poultry keeper 
on the Pacific Coast would make his roosting nouses absolutely 
draught proof on three sides, yet leaving the front entirely open 
so that the fowls have an abundance of pure air, yet not to be 
exposed to a draught, the manufacturers of roup remedies would 
have to go out of business, for this disease would then be com- 
paratively unknown from Seattle to San Diego." 




jjl | f^«.. | _j | TiTI I I T* 



Jhed 



Foost.s 



£ 



Wire, 



W. G. Suits' Ground Plan of Double Houses, Bandini Ranch, Riverside, Cal. 



Painting the Houses 

For painting the houses I have found nothing better than the 
crude petroleum. I add to it for all my houses, red Venetian paint, 
mixed with a little kerosene or distillate oil to thin it. This colors 
them a handsome chocolate. Creosote stain of a dark green is also 
a very good color, harmonizing well with the landscape, and both 
of these are preventive of mites and keep their color well for several 
years. A good whitewash also is quite suitable. 

A cheap green stain is made of six pounds of yellow ochre mixed 
with one gallon of kerosene, adding lamp black until it is of the de- 
sired shade of green. I think that mixing the yellow ochre with 
the crude petroleum which you can get at the oil wells, without us- 
ing the lampblack, would make a very desirable green, but I have 
not tried it. Another good green can be made by mixing chrome 
green (dry) with one gallon of linseed oil, four gallons kerosene, 
and one gallon of water. The color is a matter of taste after all, 
and I am only describing the inexpensive methods successfully used. 

Here is a recipe for whitewash which is unrivaled. It will stand 
the wear and tear of the elements for a long time. Anyone by 
adopting the following formula cannot help attaining success : 

Into a tight box or barrel put five or six gallons of hot water 



COMMON SENSE POULTRY HOUSES 17 

in which has been dissolved four or five pounds of coarse ground 
salt. Into this put a pail full of the best lime obtainable. The large 
lumps should be broken into quite small pieces. Immediately cover 
the barrel and cover with a heavy weight, in order to keep it in 
place when the lime is slaking, for the uplifting power of the boiling 
mass will be surprisingly great. After a few moments uncover and 
stir the mixture to the bottom with a long stick, then recover and 
keep closed for a day or two. When fully slaked the lime should 
be of the consistency of thick cream. When applied to hen houses 
or a fence, it should be thinned with water to the consistency of 
common paint. 

If too much water is used in slaking, the lime will be drowned 
and as a result the wash will be thin and watery. If not enough 
water is used, the lime will "burn" and granulate. If properly 
slake"d, the mass will be smooth and free from lumps. 

When applying the whitewash, dip out a sufficient quantity into 
a pail, then stir in a handful of cement. This will cause the wash to 
firmly adhere to the surface to which it is applied. It will be a 
dazzling whiteness and will "lay on" like paint. 

An excellent plan when whitewash is to be used about the hen 
house, chicken coops, etc., is to put in a liberal quantity of crude 
carbolic acid. 

This may be a lengthy description of the simple process of mak- 
ing whitewash, but anyone will find the recipe first class. The old- 
time method of slaking lime in cold water and applying the weak 
solution is very unsatisfactory. 




One Hatcher of the Gardena Hatchery, Containing Four Thousand Eggs. 

There are Twenty-three or These in the Building, Making This the 

Largest Hatchery in Los Angeees County. 



WHAT VARIETY TO CHOOSE 



"Poultry for profit" is the slogan. We are all looking more or 
less for the "almighty dollar." Every week, almost every day, I 
am appealed to for information as to which breed is the most profit- 
able. I can and often do tell which breed I have found the most 
profitable in the twenty years I have bred, but I cannot decide for 
another person what his or her likes or dislikes may be, nor can I 
tell what poultry will suit another's location or market. That, each 
one must decide for himself or herself, and then get the best of 'that 
breed to start with. 

A hint as to what to start with may help some of our readers. 
First of all, study your market, decide whether it requires a brown 
or a white Qgg, and choose accordingly ; secondly, decide what you 
will do with the surplus chickens, although this may seeni like 
counting the chickens before they are hatched. Will you sell 
them as broilers and fryers or use them as roasters or capons? 
Thirdly, it is always a good plan to look ahead and choose a breed 
with a prospective value and demand — one of the breeds that may 
be rare in your neighborhood, or one of the newer breeds, such as 
the Orpingtons, Campines, Faverolles or Anconas. Choose a breed 
for which there is likely to be a large demand for eggs for hatch- 
ing and for breeding stock. Or else take one of the best old breeds 
that you know will make you money from the start. Whatever 
breed you decide upon, get the best of that breed, and from a re- 
liable breeder. 

Different Breeds 

A brief review of the different classes and breeds of domestic 
fowls may be of use to beginners. There are a large number of 
breeds in this country suitable to any branch of the business, with 
all colors of plumage and size. Some especially adapted to the 
farm, others to closer confinement, as on the city lots, and still- 
others — like the beautiful little bantams — adapted to lawns and 
front yards. 




WHAT VARIETY TO CHOOSE 



19 



The American Class 

The American class consists of what are called the dual-purpose 
fowl. That is, they are good for market as well as excellent layers, 
so when their day of usefulness in the egg basket is over, they can 
end their existence on the table. This class gives us the Barred, 
Buff, White, the Partridge, Silver Pencilled and Columbian Fly- 
mouth Rocks, the Silver, Golden, White, Buff, Silver Pencilled, 
Black and Columbian Wyandottes, the Single and Rose Comb 
Rhode Island Reds, the Buckeyes, the Black, White and Mottled 




MwHBg^jags*^ 



"^aSSm^skkr?-:-':'' . 



Blue Ribbon Rhode Island Red Pullet. 



Javas, and the American Dominique. Of the list no doubt the 
Barred Plymouth Rock is the best known and most popular ; it 
may be said to lead the American class. Next to it in popularity 
is the White Plymouth Rock. This breed led in numbers at a 
late show in Madison Square Garden in New York, which is a 
sure indication of its popularity. The order of the rest might be 
given as follows: White Wyandotte, Rhode Island Reds, Buff 
Wyandotte, Buff Plymouth Rock, Silver Wyandotte, Partridge 
Wyandotte, Golden Wyandotte, Buckeyes, American Dominique, 
Black Java. 

The standard weights of the above are as follows: All of the 
Plymouth Rocks, cock, 9 l / 2 pounds; cockerel, 8 pounds; hens, 7^ 
pounds, and pullets, 6y 2 pounds. All of the Wyandottes, cock, 8^2 
pounds ; cockerel, 7y 2 pounds ; hen, 6y 2 pounds ; and pullet, 5^ 
pounds. The Rhode Island Reds, cock, 8y pounds; cockerel, 7 x / 2 



20 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 




White Wyandottes Prize Winning Pen oe A. L. Jenkins, Sebastopoe, Cal. 

pounds; hen, 6 J / 2 pounds; pullet, 5 pounds. Buckeyes, half a pound 
heavier, except pullets. The Javas are of the same weight as the 
Plymouth Rocks, and the American Dominiques, cock, 8 pounds ; 
cockerel, 7 pounds; hen, 6 pounds; pullet, 5 pounds. 



dm 





Barrred Plymouth Rock. 
The Mediterranean Class 
In the Mediterranean class we have the Single and Rose Comb 



WHAT VARIETY TO CHOOSE 21 

Brown, Single and Rose Comb White, Black, Buff and Silver Duck- 
wing Leghorns; the Black and White Minorcas; the Blue Andalu- 
sians, the Black Spanish and Mottled Anconas. 

The Mediterranean class is particularly well adapted to the cli- 
mate of California, which greatly resembles that of their home in 
the old countries. 

In point of popularity and merit, the kinds might be classed as 
follows : White Leghorn, Brown Leghorn, Black Minorca, Blue 
Andalusian, Black Spanish, Rose Comb Brown Leghorn, Rose 
Comb White Leghorn, Buff Leghorn, White Minorca, Anconas, 
Silver Duckwing Leghorn and Black Leghorn. The Black Minorca, 
White Leghorn and Black Spanish give the largest sized eggs'. 

All of the Mediterraneans have white shelled eggs. There is no 
standard weight to the Leghorns. They are small birds, weighing 
3 to 5 pounds. Of the Black Minorcas the cock weighs 9 pounds ; 
cockerel, 7y> pounds ; hen, 7 l / 2 pounds ; pullet, 6y 2 pounds. The 
weight of the Andalusians are, cock, 6 pounds ; cockerel, 5 pounds ; 
hen, 5 pounds ; pullets, 4 pounds. 

The Black Spanish weights are, cock, 8 pounds; cockerel, 6y 2 
pounds; hens, 6y 2 pounds; pullets, Sy 2 pounds. These lay an extra 
large, handsome, white-shelled egg. 

The Blue Andalusian has the unique distinction of wearing the 
national colors — red, white and blue — its plumage being blue, its 
face and eyes red and its ear-lobes white. 

The Asiatic Class 

The Asiatic class consists of the Light and Dark Brahmas, 
White and Black Langshans, the Buff, Partridge, White and Black 
Cochins. In point of popularity, they would be about in this or- 
der: Light Brahmas, Black Langshans, Buff Cochins, Partridge 
Cochins, Dark Brahmas, White Cochins, White Langshans and 
Black Cochins. The standard weights are : Light Brahmas, cock 12 
pounds, cockerel 10 pounds, hen 9y 2 pounds, pullet 8 pounds. 

Weights for Dark Brahmas are: Cock 11 pounds, cockerel 9 
pounds-; hen, %y 2 pounds; pullet, 7 pounds. Buff Partridge and 
White Cochins: Cock, 11 pounds; cockerel, 9 pounds; hen, 8y 2 
pounds; and pullet, 7 pounds; Black and White Langshans; Cock, 
10 pounds; cockerel, 8 pounds; hen, 7 pounds; and pullet, 6 pounds. 
The eggs of all of the Asiatic class are a dark brown. 

The English Class 

The English class is composed of the White, Silver-gray and 
Colored Dorkings, the Red Caps and the Buff, Black, White, Span- 
gled and Jubilee Orpingtons in both single and rose combs. The 
White Dorking weighs as follows : Cock, 7y 2 pounds ; cockerel, 6)4 
pounds; hen, 6 pounds; and pullet, 5 pounds; Silver-gray Dorkings, 
cock, 8 pounds; cockerel, 7 pounds; hen, 6y 2 pounds; and pullet, Sy 2 
pounds ; Colored Dorkings, cock, 9 pounds ; cockerel, 8 pounds ; hen, 
7 pounds ; and pullet, 6 pounds ; Red Caps, cock, 7y 2 pounds ; cock- 
erel, 6 pounds; hen, 6 pounds; and pullet, 5 pounds; Orpingtons, 



22 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 




White Orpington, Owned by A. W. Bessey. 

cock, 10 pounds; cockerel, S}4 pounds; hen, 8 pounds; and pullet, 
7 pounds. 

The French Class 

The French class is composed of the Houdans, Crevecoeurs, La- 
Fleche and Faverolles. The Houdans weigh : Cock, 7 pounds ; 
cockerel, 6 pounds ; hen, 6 pounds ; and pullet, 5 pounds ; the Creve- 
coeurs, cock 8 pounds ; cockerel, 7 pounds ; hen, 7 pounds ; and 
pullet, 6 pounds. The Crevecoeurs and La Fleche are favorites in 
France, but are rarely found in this country, as they are not popu- 
lar in the market here on account of their dark colored shanks. . 



The Hamburg Class 

The Hamburg class is composed of most excellent layers, of 
white eggs. They are the Silver Spangled, Golden Spangled, Silver 
Penciled, Golden Penciled, White and Black Hamburgs, and the 
Silver and Golden Campines. No weights are given for the Ham- 
burgs and Campines. 

The Polish Class 

The Polish are more of a fancy fowl. They are the White 
Crested Black, Golden, Silver, White, Bearded Golden, Bearded 
Silver, Bearded White and Buff Laced. They lay white eggs; no 
weights are given in the Standard for them. 



WHAT VARIETY TO CHOOSE 



23 




Best Bird at the Show. Silver "Campine." Courtesy of N. E. Luce.. 

The Game Class 

In the Game class we have the Black Breasted Red, Brown Red, 
Golden Duckwing, Silver Duckwing, Red Pyle, White, Black and 
Birchen Games. 




Peacomb Buckeye Cockerel. Mrs. Frank Metcalf. 



24 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 
Oriental Class 



Are the Cornish, White Dark, and White Laced Red, the Black 
Sumatras, Black Breasted Malays, and Malay Bantams. The 
weight for the Cornish is : cock, 9 pounds ; cockerel, 8 pounds ; hen, 
7 pounds ; and pullet, 6 pounds. 




Typical Pair Bronze Turkeys. 



Turkeys 

The most popular variety of turkeys is the Bronze; then comes 
the White Holland, another splendid variety. Among others we 
have the Black, Buff, Bourbon Red, Slate Narragansett and Wild. 

The weights for Bronze are : cock, 36 pounds ; yearling cock, 33 
pounds ; cockerel, 25 pounds ; hen, 20 pounds ; and pullet, 16 pounds ; 
for White Holland, cock, 26 pounds; cockerel, 18 pounds; hen, 16 
pounds; pullet, 12 pounds. 

Ducks 

The Fekin is "The American Duck" with its white plumage and 
heavily meated body. Their weight is as follows : Adult drake, 8 
pounds ; young drake, 7 pounds ; adult duck, 7 pounds ; young duck, 
6 pounnds. Another white variety, very popular in England, is the 
Aylesbury. Weight for adult drake, 9 pounds ; }^oung drake. 8 
pounds ;• adult duck, 8 pounds ; young duck, 7 pounds. The colored 
Rouen have similar weights and plumage to the Wild Mallard, the 
drakes having bright green heads. Other popular varieties are the 
Indian Runners, both colored and white, called the Leghorn of 



WHAT VARIETY TO CHOOSE 



25 




Goodacre's White Indian Runners. 

the duck family, being rather small, very active and immense layers 
of fine white eggs. Then there are the Buff Orpington Ducks, the 
Blue Swedish, Black Cayuga, Colored and White Muscovy, Call 
and Black East India, these latter being more ornamental varieties. 

Geese 

Perhaps the easiest kept and noisiest of all our large variety of 
domestic fowl are geese, and where conditions are suitable, they 
prove very profitable. The Toulouse, a large, gray variety, and the 
White Embden, seem the most popular of the pure-bred varieties, 
and the weights for either variety are, for adult gander, 20 pounds; 
young gander, 18 pounds; adult goose, 18 pounds; young Toulouse 
goose, 15 pounds; and Embden young goose, 16 pounds. Other 
varieties are the African, Brown and White Chinese, Canadian and 
Egyptian ; these are either used for ornamental purposes or for 
crossing:. 



Selection of Breed 

Knowing the values and weights of the different standard 
breeds, the beginner will be enabled to make his choice, and have 
no trouble in finding the proper selection. 

Supposing egg production is the principal object, the beginner 
will have to decide according to the demand of his nearest market. 
Boston requires brown eggs, San Francisco white eggs, while Los 
Angeles seems to be content with either. If you are living near 
San Francisco, one of the Mediterranean breeds will prove the most 
valuable to you. The Minorcas, Black Spanish and some of the 
strains of White Leghorns lay the largest and finest looking eggs. 
One correspondent who asks for justice for the Minorcas says he 
has Minorca hens which lay eggs weighing nearly three ounces, 
and there were Leghorn eggs on exhibition in a late poultry show 
which weighed five eggs to the pound, but these were from hens 
"bred to lay." The Brown Leghorns and Hamburgs give many 



26 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



e gg S — white eggs also — but smaller, which is an objection in a 
good market. Should broilers be the object, we should choose the 
White Wyandottes or White Plymouth Rocks. These latter are 
exceptionally fine winter layers. For roasters and capons, the 
Light Brahmas or any of the Plymouth Rocks are the favorites. 
If two breeds are wanted, we should personally prefer the White 
Leghorns and White Plymouth Rocks. The White Plymouth 
Rocks will give the winter eggs and the White Leghorns the spring 
and summer eggs in great abundance, although they may not lay 
as many eggs in the winter as the White Rocks- In the early spring 
the White Rock eggs can be set for early broilers and roasters, 
while the Leghorns are doing their heaviest laying, and in April 
and May the Leghorn eggs can be set for the following season's 
eggs. In this manner there will be a constant succession of eggs 
for market, and broilers and roasters in season. Always having 
something to sell means a regular income. Something to market 
at least once a week. A poultry and egg route and the reputation 
of having none but the choicest goods to offer is the secret of 
success. 




Mercer's Champion Cornish Hen. .Note the Large Breast. The Largest 

Breast Meat Fowe. 



EGGS FOR BREEDING 



Having chosen the breed which suits us best, let us talk on how 
to get the most out of that breed, for I think we are all agreed that 
if we keep poultry for profit, we want to make as much as we can 
out of it. Therefore, having got our fowls, we must treat them 
right. The natural instinct of a fowl is to make a nest for itself and 
raise a family of its own in the spring time. It never considers its 
owner's profit or loss ; therefore, to make it answer our purpose, to 
develop it into a money-maker for us, we must either change its 
nature or deceive it. We must let it imagine that it is the time of 
year for nest making and family raising. We must supply it with 
the conditions of springtime. Our own lives, are artificial and the 
conditions surrounding our domestic hens are also artificial, but 
we must, if we want success, copy as far as possible Nature's ways 
with fowls and follow Nature's plans. 




Eggs for Breeding. Packed Correctly for Shipment. 



In the spring not only do we want egg production, but we want 
good, strong fertility in our eggs. We want fertile eggs now, for 
are we not pre-arranging to have plenty of vigorous pullets to lay 
those high-priced market eggs next fall? Are we not anticipating 
sturdy cockerels to win prizes at next winter's shows, or to make 
toothsome fries or delicious roasts? 

Fertile eggs are now in order. How shall we get them? First, 
we must have vigorous and healthy parent birds ; we usually have 
healthy birds in the 'spring of the year, for the moult is well over 
and the ailments which prevail in the fall — colds, catarrh and sore 
throats, all classed as roup — have yielded to treatment, or the vic- 
tims are no more. The chicken pox, which also is a fall disease, 
has about disappeared, and the birds are in good condition. 

Vigor is Necessary 

Vigor is the first requisite for fertile eggs. To have vigor, the 
hens must have exercise ; every grain they eat should be scratched 



28 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

or dug out of the straw or litter in their scratching pen. A hen 
that is very fat — over fat — will not have fertile eggs and will not 
have strong, sturdy chickens. It is neither kind nor wise to over- 
fatten your breeding hens, but they must be fed the proper food for 
fertility. How can we decide- what food to feed for fertility? Let 
us interrogate Nature again. The wild bird, the Gallus Bankiva, 
from which sprung all our domestic fowls, lays her eggs and raises 
her young only in the spring. She only has two broods of about 
thirteen eggs each, but those eggs are rarely infertile. What does 
she eat? Principally insects and the tender green grasses or small 
leaves, not much grain, for the seeds have fallen and have begun 
to sprout and grow. 

During the winter Nature has supplied the birds with grains in 
plenty, so they have put on fat to withstand the cold ; but now there 
are only a few grains left and the fowls are becoming thinner, yet 
Nature does not starve them, only gradually changes the ration and 
gives them worms and larvae, insects of all kinds, for the insect life 
has also commenced to pulsate and develop ; the buds are bursting, 
too, and the tender green appears and beautiful spring is here, pro- 
viding all the green food they can eat. How about our captive 
hens? In our bare back yards, with only the ration we choose to 
give them? Poor things ; they have a natural craving for the tender 
green, a wild desire for the succulent insect or animal food ! See, 
how they will fight over or scramble for the meat that is thrown 
to them, or for the head of lettuce ! They try to tell us in their 
own way what they require to produce fertile eggs at this season 
of the year. 

How to Feed 

How shall we follow their teachings? Increase the amount of 
their animal food and give the breeding fowls more green food. 
How shall we do this? Increase gradually whatever animal food 
we are now feeding until from 20 to 30 per cent of their daily food 
is animal food. The best animal food is fresh meat of some kind ; 
the scraps and bones left over at the market; this ground or 
chopped finely is the best I know of. Rabbits, squirrels, gophers, 
are all good fresh meat. If fresh meat cannot be obtained, you can 
get at the poultry supply houses granulated milk, dried blood, blood 
and bone, beef scrap and other animal food. The best green food 
is fresh-cut clover lawn clippings, green alfalfa, lettuce, cabbage 
and other vegetables. 

The Male Bird 

The male bird is considered as half the pen. The germ or seed 
of life of the future chicken is from the male. Be sure to have the 
male vigorous and healthy, and see to it that he gets sufficient food 
of the right quality. The male bird is often so gallant that he calls 
up his wives and they greedily eat all the best part of the food, 
choosing first the meat or animal part, which is the most necessary 
for fertility, and the husband, the father of future chicks, on which 



EGGS FOR BREEDING 29 

so much depends, is half starved, becomes thin and light. Every 
male bird when being used to fertilize eggs should be fed extra, 
either in a pen or corner by himself, or out of your hand at least 
once a day. 

Mating 

In mating up the pens I have found the most satisfactory num- 
ber to mate is about eight or not over ten females of the American 
breeds to one male. From twelve to fifteen of the Leghorns or 
Mediterranean birds, and from six to eight of the Asiatic class to 
one male. Some breeders advocate using two male birds in one 
pen, alternating them day about, or three male birds for two pens, 
allowing one bird to rest every second or third day. I never did 
this, because I was keeping a pedigree of my fowls, and never found 
any necessity for it. 

Caring for Fertile Eggs 

Having the fertility assured, the next thing is to take care of the 
eggs from the time they are laid until incubation begins. Eggs 
should be kept in a moderately cool, quiet place ; not in a draught. 
I always imitate Nature and turn the eggs, just as a hen would, 
every day, keeping them in a box either in the cellar or a large, 
dark, but airy, closet. Some people keep them in fillers with the 
little end down, but I prefer following Nature's ways and leaving 
them on their side. 

To Choose Eggs for Hatching 

To choose the eggs for hatching I use an egg tester or I roll up 
a newspaper in the shape of a telescope, putting the egg at one 
end in the sun and my eye at the other end. If the egg shell is 
speckled or thin at one end, or has thin blotches on it, or is mis- 
shapen in any way, or if it feels chalky to the touch, I reject that 
egg, relegating it to the kitchen, for these eggs will not hatch. I 
also reject very small eggs, as they are laid by pullets or by over-fat 
hens, and if they hatch, the chickens will be weaklings. The very 
large eggs should also be rejected, as they may have double yolks, 
and these seldom hatch healthy chickens. Above all, never sell for 
hatching eggs those as described above. The best eggs are the 
egg-shaped eggs, with good, firm, smooth shells and not narrow 
waisted. 



EGGS FOR MARKET 



The hen in her wild state lays about thirty eggs per year. The 
farmer's average hen lays not over one hundred. On egg farms 
the average is 150, and some of the fowls of the "bred to lay" strains 
will average even more. 

There are 365 days in the year, and I do not see why a pullet 
that is fully matured, that comes from an egg-laying strain, a pul- 
let properly fed and cared for, should not lay over 200 eggs per 
year ; in fact, I have had hens that will do even better than that. I 
will admit that a hen will not lay 200 eggs a year without constant 
and intelligent care, and the question confronting us is, will the 
additional number of eggs pay for this care? Also, how shall we 
give this care and secure these results? 

You hear of heredity and pedigree in cows, in horses, in dogs. 
Heredity is as important with hens as with any other stock. He- 
redity has as much to do with the success of hens as the right 
handling. Heredity (or pedigree) and handling must go together. 
The two-hundred-egg hen must be "bred to lay." She must come 
from an egg-producing family. No matter how scientifically a hen 
is fed, or how well housed, you cannot make an extra fine layer out 
of one whose parents for generations past have been poor layers. 
It is impossible to take a flock of mongrels and scrubs and get 200 
eggs each a year from them, although good handling will greatly 
increase the yield of even mongrels. 

The different breeds require different handling, but no matter 
what breed you have, there are three essentials to egg production 
— comfort, exercise and proper food." 

Comfort 

Under the head of comfort comes first of all cleanliness. A hen 
that has lice, or fleas, or mites, or ticks on her cannot lay her full 
amount of eggs. You must help the hen in her efforts to make you 
money. Give her every encouragement to lay. Cleanliness every- 
where. A comfortable, enticing nest, rather dark, where she may 
stealthily deposit her precious egg. Renew with nice, clean straw 
once a month. Do everything to coax the hens to lay. If trap- 
nests are used, there should be enough of them so that the hens 
will not be kept waiting, for by keeping a hen off the nest she will 
frequently retain her egg until the next day, and will soon learn to 
be a poor layer. Cleanliness means a clean, sweet-smelling roost- 
ing place, where she may sleep undisturbed by lice or mites. Just 
think for a moment how in the human family a fresh, clean bed in 
a quiet room will court slumber. I have passed the night in an 
Arab's tent in Africa that was infested with .fleas, and my heart is 
full of sympathy for a hen that has to live in some of the mite- 
infested henneries I have seen in the West. Under the head of 
comfort comes freedom from draughts. A draught in this country 
will give human beings face ache, neuralgia, earache and a swelled 
face. It has exactly the same effect on hens. Influenza, swelled 



EGGS FOR MARKET 31 

head, roup, always or almost always commence from a draught 
(combined with lice). Comfort means also pure, fresh air without 
any draught, and pure, fresh water to drink. 

Exercise 

You. know how in the human family exercise is recommended. 
Physical culture, gymnastics, Ralston exercises, Swedish move- 
ments, fencing, etc., and those who may be too feeble to exercise 
for themselves, pay others to rub, pound and knead or massage 
them to get the same effect. 

Exercise is as necessary for the hen as for the human being and 
more so, for the hen's exercise of scratching develops the egg pro- 
ducing organs and strengthens them, and hens which exercise lay 
many more eggs than lazy hens. If you have a vigorous scratcher 
among your hens, you may be sure she is a good layer. 

Exercise a hen must have to develop the egg-making organs. 
She absolutely must scratch if she is to make a living for herself 
and you. I consider a scratching pen as necessary for hens in con- 
finement as food. My scratching pens were twelve or fifteen feet 
long and eight feet wide, but in small yards I have made very satis- 
factory little pens by nailing four boards six feet long together, 
forming a square. The boards should be twelve inches wide and 
the pen filled with wheat straw or alfalfa hay or any good litter. 
I do not like barley straw on account of the beards, which some 
times run into the hen's eyes, nostrils, or mouth and cause death. 
Foxtails, burr clover and wild oats are all dangerous on this ac- 
count. 

I feed all the grain scattered over the straw and my hens scratch 
and dig happily all day long. The straw or hay is soon broken 
into short pieces and fresh straw must be added about once a week, 
and the whole cleaned out and used for mulching trees when the 
straw becomes dirty. This will depend upon the size of the pen and 
the number of hens using it. 

Proper Food 

What it is and how much to give. The scientists tell us that 
the proper food or the "balanced ration" is composed of one part 
of protein to four parts of carbo-hydrates. Before discussing this 
"balanced ration," let us interrogate Nature and find out how a hen 
balances her own ration. 

Let us take a hen as she comes in from foraging in the fields 
after a long day in summer. Let us kill her and examine her crop. 
What do we find? Grains of wheat, barley, corn, according to 
where her rambles have led her; bits of grass, clover and vege- 
tables; some bugs, worms and grasshoppers; here and there a bit 
of gravel and a lot of matter partially digested that we cannot 
recognize. The first thing that impresses us is that the hen likes 
variety, and the second thing that this variety consists of animal 
food (bugs, worms, insects), grains and green food. This is the 
''balanced ration," balanced by the hen herself to suit her needs in 



32 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

the summer time when eggs are plentiful. If we want eggs in the 
winter, we must, as far as possible, give the same conditions, the 
same variety of foods, with plenty of pure, fresh water, never for- 
getting that about seventy per cent of the egg is water. 

But to return to the "balanced ration." We know that a hen 
requires a certain amount of food to keep her alive and thriving; 
above that the surplus goes either to making the egg inside her or 
to making fat. 

The hen is an egg-making machine, but if you put into that ma- 
chine none of the elements of the egg, you cannot expect the ma- 
chine to turn out eggs. 

Therefore, the scientists analyzed the egg, and not only that, but 
also analyzed the body of the hen with the feathers, and discovered 
as follows : The very large number of different substances found in 
the hen may be grouped under four heads: 1, water; 2, ash or. 
mineral matter; 3, protein (or nitrogenous matter); 4, fat. The 
proportion of each of these groups alters with the condition of the 
hen. Water is the largest ingredient and amounts to from forty to 
sixty per cent of the weight of the bird. Ash or mineral matter 
forms from three to six per cent when the hen is not laying, and 
from six to ten per cent when laying. The group called protein 
constitutes from fifteen to thirty per cent of the weight. Fat seldom 
falls below six or rises above thirty per cent. 

The feathers are composed of protein and ash, the ash being 
largely silicate of potash and lime. 

The accompanying analysis of the hen, pullet and egg has been 
kindly sent to me by Professor Jaffa ; that of the egg was made by 
him at the University Laboratory of California. 

Analysis of Hen and Egg 

Typical Pullet in Capon, 

Leghorn full laying, Plymouth Eggs as Eggs, edible 

Hen Leghorn Rock Purchased Portion 

Water 56.8 57.4 41.6 65.6 73.7 

Protein 21.6 21.2 19.4 11.8 13.3 

Ash 3.8 3.4 3.7 .7 .8 

Fat 17.8 18.0 35.3 10.8 12.2 

Shell ... ... 11.1 

Total 10C.O 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Composition of Hen and Egg 

Calculated on a Water-free Basis 

Protein 50.0 49.8 343 50.5 

Fat 41.2 42.2 31.4 46.4 

Ash 8.8 8.0 2.1 3.1 

Shell ... 32.2 

Total 1C0.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

It is interesting to compare the analysis of the hen and egg with 
some of our grains and poultry food. In all our grains are found 



EGGS FOR MARKET 



33 



more or less the elements of the egg, but they are not in the right 
or proper proportion for making the egg. There is usually too 
much of the fattening element in the grains and not enough protein 
or nitrogenous element, which forms the meat, muscle, bone and 
feather. This is the most valuable and most expensive part of the 
ration. 

In order to keep up the strength of the hen and have her produce 
the largest amount of eggs, it has been found that for every pound 
of protein in the food, she must have four pounds of carbo hydrates. 
This will vary slightly according to the heat of the weather and the 
needs of the hen. 

I would urge you to send a postal to the University of Cali- 
fornia at Berkeley, asking for the Farmer's Bulletin No. 164 on 
Poultry Feeding. This bulletin, by Professor Jaffa, is one of the 
most valuable bulletins ever published. It contains the analysis 
of the different grains, vegetables and meats and of most of the 
proprietary foods, besides formulas for the best rations. 

In Bulletin 140 of the Department of Agriculture there are some 
rules for caring for eggs for market which are good : 

1. Use hens that produce not only a goodly number of eggs, 
but those of standard size. Such breeds are Plymouth Rocks, Wy- 
andottes, Rhode Island Reds, Leghorns, Orpingtons and Minorcas. 

2. Good housing, regular feeding, and, above all, clean, dry nests. 

3. Daily gathering of eggs, and when the temperature is above 80 
degrees, gathering twice a day. 4. Confining all broody hens as 
soon as they show symptoms of broodiness. 5. Rejection of all 
doubtful eggs found in a nest that was not visited the previous day. 
6. Placing all summer eggs when gathered in the coolest place 
available. 7. Prevention at all times of moisture coming in con- 
tact with the eggs. 8. Disposing of young cockerels before they 
begin to annoy the hens. 9. The using of cracked and dirty eggs 
at home. 10. Marketing all eggs at least once a week or oftener. 
11. Keeping all eggs cool while on the way to town or in the coun- 
try stores. 12. Keeping all eggs away from bad odors and out of 
musty cellars. 13. The use of strong, clean egg cases and good 
fillers. 




SPROUTING OATS 



By W. S. Willis 



The following method of sprouting oats has been kindly sent 
to the author by Mr. W. S. Willis, of the celebrated Arlington Egg 
Ranch. Mr. Willis has found the sprouted oats a splendid addition 
to the hen's ration, lending variety to the daily bill of fare and in- 
creasing the egg* output. 

Three quarts of oats will make a fine morning meal for 100 hens 
if properly sprouted. 

Place the grain in a pail and let it soak for twenty-four hours ; 
then transfer it to a box one foot square and six inches deep, with 
a few small drainage holes in the bottom. 

Sprinkle with water daily and allow the grain to remain in the 
box until the sprouts are from two to three inches in length, at 
which time it will be ready to feed. 

As it takes from eight to ten days to secure the proper growth, 
a number of boxes or compartments should be provided for the 
grain, keeping each day's allowance separate, and a new lot should 
be started daily. 

For larger flocks of course it is necessary to increase the size of 
the boxes — a day's feed for 600 hens, for instance, requiring a 
sprouting space of two by three feet. 

In all cases care should be taken not to have the grain over two 
inches deep when placed in boxes, in order to guard against heat- 
ing and mildew. 

The boxes should be placed in a level position and kept covered 
with a board or burlap, in order to keep the grain in a moist condi- 
tion. 

In cold weather the sprouting operations should be conducted 
in comfortably warm quarters, and warm water may sometimes 
be used to advantage in sprinkling the grain. 

Redwood is better than pine to use in making the sprouting 
boxes, being less liable to swell and crack when water soaked. 

Should it be impossible to get oats that will grow well, barley 
or wheat may be substituted, but it may be found necessary to stir 
the barley until it begins to sprout, to prevent fermentation. 




THE FEEDING PROBLEM 



The three essentials of egg production, the three essentials of 
profit in poultry keeping', the three essentials for vigor and health 
in fowls are — comfort, exercise and proper food. 

Let us consider (1) the proper food, (2) the methods of feeding 
it, and (3) recipes for a few tried balanced rations. 

Practical knowledge and skill in feeding can be acquired without 
Ihe study of science. Feeding fowls for good results is a com- 
paratively simple matter. 

Requirements in Feeding 

The food which a fowl consumes has three chief functions to 
perform: ( 1 ) to sustain life, promote life, repair waste and produce 
eggs; (2) to keep the body warm ; (3) to furnish strength or energy 
which is expended in every movement. The fowl is also able to 
store food, not needed at the time it is eaten, for future use; this 
store is chiefly in the form of fat, which serves as a reserve supply 
of fuel. 

Food Elements 

To supply the three functions in the life of a fowl there are three 
principal food elements : Proteins, carbo-hydrates and fat ; all of 
these are contained in the different grains and foods used for 
poultry. 

(1) Proteids (or protein), albuminous or nitrogenous matter. 
Protein is the nourishing matter, the principal tissue former, sup- 
plying material for bone, muscle, blood, feathers, eggs. Its latent 
energy can also be converted into heat and energy ; but it is more 
costly for such purposes than the non-nitrogenous foods. 

(2) Carbo-hydrates, carbonaceous matter, starches and sugar. 
Carbo-hydrates form the bulk in nearly all foods and are the prin- 
cipal sources of heat and energy. 

(3) Fats are found in almost all foods. They furnish heat and 
energy in addition to the supply from the carbo-hydrates. Fat also 
enters larg'ely into the composition of the yolk of the egg. 

All three food elements are necessary. The proper combina- 
tion of these three is called the "balanced ration." It is, in other 
words, a "complete" ration, containing in proper proportions the 
necessary food elements to. promote (1) growth, including egg pro- 
duction, (2) warmth, and (3) energy or strength. The needs of a 
fowl's system are not always the same ; it does not always need the 
different elements to be in the same proportions ; the ration prop- 
erly balanced or suitable for a growing chick would be unbalanced 
(unsuitable) for the mature hen. The food to be a balanced ration 
must be adapted to the present needs of the fowl. 

Many people find it easier to keep food values in their minds 
when they have seen a picture than after studying over figures in 
a table. A glance at a couple of foods to be compared, with the 
proportion of ingredients blocked out plainly, as they are here, 



36 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN. POULTRY BOOK 



makes an indelible impression on the mind. One can see in a mo- 
ment where one pays for water in the foodstuffs and where one 
does not. When it is desirable to know the exact percentage of 
protein or carbo-hydrate that a food contains, it is necessary to 
refer to the table for ease of calculation. 



Material Water 

Milk 87.20 

Skim Milk 90.60 

Dried Milk 12.10 

Cottage Cheese 72.00 

Fresh Meat 71.00 

Beef Scraps 5.00 

Cocoanut Oil Cake Meal 14.08 

Linseed Oil Cake Meal 10.93 

Cotton Seed Meal 9.85 

Soy Bean Meal 9.50 

Gluten Feed 7.80 

Beans, dried 12.60 

Peas, dried 9.50 

Barley, rolled 10.05 

Barley, sprouted 55.50 

Oats : 11.00 

Oats, rolled 7.70 

Corn, Indian 10.60 

Rice 12.30 

Rice Bran 10.55 

Rye 11.60 

Wheat, plump 11.50 

Wheat, shrunken 8.30 

Wheat, bran 11.67 

Wheat, middlings 11.73 

Wheat, shorts 9.85 

Mixed Feed 10.57 

Broken Crackers 5.90 

Cabbage 90.50 

Alfalfa, green 80.00 

Alfalfa, meal or hay 10.95 

Pumpkins 90.90 

Methods of Feeding 

The question of how to feed and what to feed for the best results 
in egg production is the most difficult problem in poultry keeping, 
and has for some time been engaging the attention of the various 
Government Experiment Stations in this and other countries. The 
two successful systems in use at the present time are the Mash 
system and the Dry Feed system. 

The mash system is one in which a mash is fed once or twice a 
day. The foundation of the mash is bran, middlings, and corn meal 
or chops. It is mixed wet, raw, scalded or cooked. The dry feed 
system is when a dry mash is fed, consisting of the same ingredients 
as the wet mash, but dry. Dry feeding is used by many regularly, 
and is becoming more popular every year. 

In mash feeding the errors to be avoided are : Too concentrated 
a mash with too much meat or fat; too light or bulky, that is, 







Carbo-hydrates. 










Starch, 




Ash 


Protein 


Fiber 


Sugar, etc. 


Fat 


.70 


3.60 


4.90 


3.70 


.70 


3.30 


i 


5.30 


.10 


15.10 


58.80 


12.40 


1.60 


1.80 


20.90 


4.30 


1.00 


1.00 


22.00 






7.00 


17.00 


59.00 


3.40 


3.85 


17.00 


4.36 


19.51 


9.53 


42.12 


10.40 


4.50 


30.70 


8.89 


37.95 


7.03 


4.86 


47.25 


3.19 


22.64 


12.21 


5.60 


44.40 


4.35 


28.44 


7.70 


1.10 


24.00 


5.30 


51.20 


10.60 


3.50 


22.50 


4.40 


55.20 


1.80 


2.90 


24.60 


4.50 


57.50 


1.00 


2.92 


12.00 


2.30 


69.63 


3.12 


1.18 


7.00 


4.26 


31.14 


.75 


3.00 


11.80 


9.50 


59.70 


5.00 


2.00 


16.00 


1.30 


65.00 


7.00 


1.50 


10.30 


2.20 


70.40 


5.00 


.30 


8.40 


78.60 


.40 


6.64 


14.96 


4.85 


50.20 


12.80 


1.90 


10.60 


1.70 


72.50 


1.70 


1.76 


11.85 


2.45 


70.40 


2.03 


2.34 


17.10 


3.48 


66.78 


3.00 


5.18 


14.05 


8.16 


57.34 


3.60 


. 2.85 


15.22 


4.88 


60.85 


4.47 


4.24 


15.20 


5.05 


64.48 


3.32 


3.57 


12.00 


9.66 


59.98 


4.21 


1.90 


10.00 


.80 


70.30 


9.00 


1.40 


2.40 


1.50 


3.90 


.40 


1.72 


4.94 


4.70 


7.90 


.74 


6.43 


17.60 


22.63 


39.31 


3.08 


.50 


1.30 


1.70 


5.20 


.40 



THE FEEDING PROBLEM 



37 




By courtesy of the University of California Experiment Station. 
See table on opposite page. 



38 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



composed principally of bran or hay ; too wet or sloppy or sour 
or mouldy. Experience has shown that feeding wet mashes more 
than once a day has bad effects, producing indigestion in various 
forms. 

The advantages of the dry-feed system are : A saving of labor to 
the feeder, is lighter to handle and much easier to mix. It can be 
fed in the morning. The fowls are obliged to eat it slowly; they 
cannot swallow it in a few minutes. It will not freeze in cold 
weather nor become sour in hot weather, and the fowls will not 
over-eat with the dry feed. 




An Excellent Feed Hopper for Young and Old. 

These hoppers are made 8 feet long. The trough is 8 inches wide and 4 inches 

deep with a strip (or iath) half an inch wide nailed along the top of 

trough inside to keep the chickens from pulling out the feed. The slats 

are about two to three inches apart. 

The chief consideration in dry-feeding is that fowls require 
about three times as much water to drink as with the wet mash ; 
also unless the dry food is placed in hoppers or fed in boxes at least 
four inches deep, it is apt to be wasted. The two systems supply 
the requirements of the fowls in slightly different ways and both 
are used very successfully. 

Sample Rations 

The rations here given have been tested and proved excellent by 
some of the most successful poultry breeders in this country. 

Ration for Chicks Intended for Breeders 

First meal, when chicks are 36 hours old : Rolled or flake break- 
fast oats, dry; give scattered on sand every three hours, then feed 
chick food. This is a number of small or broken dry grains which 
can be bought at the poultry supply houses. The use of hard grain 
diet like chick feed, develops the digestive organs and keeps them 
healthy. The chick feed prepared by reliable firms is excellent. 
For those who prefer to mix their own chick feed, the following 
is a good recipe: Cracked wheat, 30 pounds; steel-cut or rolled 
breakfast oats, 30 pounds; finely cracked corn, 15 pounds; millet, 
rice, pearl barley, rape seed, finely ground beef scraps or granulated 
milk, dried granulated bone, chick grit, 10 pounds; granulated char- 
coal, 5 pounds. In the chick feeds wheat, oats and corn are the 
staples, the most necessary part of the ration. Feed at 6 a.m. 
chick feed scattered in chaff; 9 a.m. rolled or steel-cut oats; 11 
a.m. green lettuce; 1 p.m. chick feed; 3 p.m. green feed; lettuce, 



THE FEEDING PROBLEM 39 

clover or potatoes chopped fine; 4:30 p.m. hard boiled- eggs (4 for 
100 chicks), chopped shell and all, with the same amount of onions 
and twice the amount of bread crumbs or rolled oats or Johnny- 
cake. One fountain of skim milk and one of clean water always 
before them and renewed three times a day. Very coarse sand and 
granulated charcoal should be always before them. 

Toward the end of the second week mix a little whole wheat, 
hulled oats and kaffir corn with the chick food, gradually increasing 
it, until at the end of the sixth week they will be eating this entirely. 

Rations for Broilers 

For the first two weeks use the same feed as given for the breed- 
ers. Third week, 6 a.m. chick feed; 9 a.m. mash, 1 part each of 
bran, cornmeal and rolled oats, and a little salt ; mix with skim 
milk, making a crumbly dry feed in a small dish or trough, taking 
away all there is left in fifteen minutes; 11 a.m. lettuce or clover; 
1 p.m. rolled oats; 3 p.m. chopped raw potatoes; 4:30 p.m. mash 
same as in the morning. Fourth week, 6 a.m. chick feed; 9 a.m. 
mash, adding 5 per cent beef scraps or cracklings; 1 p.m. chopped 
potatoes; 4:30 p.m. mash, same as in the morning. Keep grit and 
charcoal always before them, with skim milk and pure water. Fin- 
ish off at six to eight weeks by gradually adding from five to ten 
per cent of cotton-seed meal and a little molasses with the mash. 

Rations for Laying Hens 

In order to keep up the strength of the hen and have her produce 
the largest amount of eggs, it has been found that for every pound 
of protein in the food she must have four pounds of carbo-hydrates. 
Many instances may be cited in which the rations fed to laying hens 
differed greatly, but have been productive of excellent results, pro- 
vided they contain a sufficient quantity of digestible protein. The 
following rations have proven successful : 

I will give a formula that I have used for many years after ex- 
perimenting with others, and will give some that are being used 
at the present time by prominent and successful breeders near 
here. There are many other breeders, but I happen to have these 
by me and have not those of the others. The Basley formula is as 
follows : By measure, 2 parts heavy bran, 1 part alfalfa meal, 1 
part corn meal, 1 part oatmeal (called Breakfast Flaked Oats), 1 
part beef scraps or meat meal or granulated milk, a little pepper and 
salt ; keep this in a hopper or feed box- At noon green feed. In 
the evening grain, wheat, kaffir corn or cracked corn, barley, hulled 
oats, equal parts, mixed and scattered in straw in the scratching 
pen. Fresh water constantly before them ; if they run out of 
water, the egg yield will stop. I keep before the fowls at all times 
sharp grit, crushed oyster shells, charcoal and granulated dried 
bone. At moulting time I add to the grain sunflower seed, and to 
the dry mash linseed meal. The reason I feed oatmeal is that I al- 
ways feed for vigor. I want the parent birds to be vigorous and the 
eggs to have such an amount of protein in them that the chicks 



40 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

will not fail in being vigorous. There is no food equal to oats for 
giving vigor. The reason I feed alfalfa is that although it shows 
on analysis almost the same protein content as bran, it gives the 
yolk of the eggs a rich orange hue which bran fails to impart. All 
fowls need plenty of green food and clean water. The green food 
is the cheapest food you can give and keeps the digestive organs 
in good condition. Green food must be given daily. 

Rations of Successful Breeders 

Wilcox Standard Mash— 50 lbs. heavy wheat bran, 20 lbs. corn 
meal, 14 lbs. ground barley, 5 lbs. oil cake or cotton-seed meal, 
10 lbs. beef scrap, 1 lb. fine charcoal. - 

Johnson Formula — 80 lbs. wheat bran, 15 lbs. alfalfa meal, 15 
lbs. cracked raw bone, 1 pint of home-made condiment. 

Bickford Dry Mash — One part corn meal, 1 part middlings, 2 
parts heavy wheat bran, 1-10 part meat or blood meal, 1-10 cot- 
ton-seed meal, a good handful of salt to one hundred pounds. 

Goodacre Standard Mash — Ten lbs. wheat bran, 2 lbs. corn 
meal, 2 lbs. fine meat meal, 1 lb. linseed meal. 

Walton's Dry Mash — 12 parts wheat bran, 4 parts corn meal, 
2 parts beef scrap, 2 parts alfalfa meal, 2 parts granulated milk, y 2 
part charcoal. 

Cowles Dry Mash — One part each of corn, wheat and barley 
ground up together. To 80 lbs. of the above add 5 lbs. of blood 
meal, 5 lbs. of bone meal, 10 lbs. of meat meal and a little charcoal. 

For One Dozen Hens 

Rations for one dozen breeding hens, American class, in con- 
finement, for three days' rotation. 

Monday morning — One pint and a half grain, wheat, cracked 
corn and nulled oats, equal parts mixed and scattered in straw or 
litter in scratching pen. Noon : Cut clover or lawn clippings. Even- 
ing: Mash, 1 qt. heavy bran; 1 qt. ground oats; 1 pt. corn meal; 1-3 
of the whole cut clover or alfalfa meal ; 1 tablespoonful each of salt 
and pulverized charcoal; ^ pt. beef scraps. 

Tuesday morning — \y 2 pts. mixed grain, wheat and rolled bar- 
ley. Noon : green feed, pumpkins or clover ; 1 pt. green cut bone. 
Evening: Mash, 1 pt. cooked vegetables and table scraps, 1 qt. bran, 
1 pt. cornmeal, a little salt and pepper. 

Wednesday morning — \ l / 2 pt. mixed grain; wheat, hulled oats, 
kaffir corn. Noon : Cabbage or beets. Evening : Mash, 1 pt. peas 
or beans soaked over night, boiled with a little soda until soft; y 2 
pt. dried blood, or beef scraps, 1-3 cut clover. If you cannot get 
beans cheaply, use potatoes or other vegetables. 

Follow the same system the remaining three days. 

Sunday, instead of the mash, scald three pints of rolled barley 
in the morning, cover and leave to steam. Feed in the evening in- 
stead of the mash ; this makes a pleasant change and saves work 
for the Sabbath. 

The reason for feeding the mash at night is to keep the hens 



THE FEEDING PROBLEM 



41 



busy scratching all day and so send them to roost with their crops 
full. There is danger of the American and Asiatic fowls becoming 
too tat and lazy without exercise if given the mash in the morning. 
Bulletin 164 of the California College of Agriculture gives the 
following formulas as samples of the many different combinations 
that can be made from the various feed stuffs on the market. They 
are calculated for 100 hens a day, and if fed with nine to twelve 
pounds of grain, according to weight of hens, and some green stuff, 
they will form a well balanced ration. Mash may be fed wet or dry. 



I. 

Quarts Pounds 

Bran 6.0 3.0 

Shorts 2.5 1.8 

Corn meal 1.5 2.3 

Cocoa O. C. meal 1.0 0.9 

Beef scrap 1.0 1.5 

Coarse bone meal 0.5 1.0 

II. 

Quarts Pounds 

Bran 6.0 3.0 

Middlings 0.5 0.5 

Linseed O. C. meal 0.5 0.5 

Gluten feed 0.8 1.0 

Ground oats 1.0 0.75 

Corn meal 1.5 2.25 

Beef scrap 1.0 1.50 

Coarse bone meal 0.5 1.00 

III. 

Quarts Pounds 

Bran 5.0 2.50 

Shorts 3.0 2.00 

Corn meal 1.5 2.25 

Soy bean meal 0.75 1.00 

Beef scrap 1.00 1.50 

Coarse bone meal 0.50 1.00 



IV. 

Quarts Pounds 

Bran 6.0 3.0 

Corn meal 1.0 1.5 

Barley meal 2.0 2.2 

Alfalfa meal 1.0 0.5 

Soy bean meal 1.0 1.3 

Beef scrap 1.0 1.5 

Coarse bone meal 0.5 1.0 

V. 

Quarts Pounds 

Bran 4.0 2.0 

Alfalfa meal 1.0 0.5 

Corn meal 1.0 1.5 

Shorts 2.0 1.5 

Barley meal 1.0 1.1 

Ground beans 1.0 1.1 

Beef scrap 1.0 1.5 

Coarse bone meal 0.5 1.0 

VI. 

Quarts Pounds 

Bran 5.0 2.5 

Alfalfa meal 1.0 0.5 

Corn meal 1.5 2.3 

Linseed O. C. meal.... 1.0 0.9 

Shorts 2.0 1.5 

Beef scrap 1.0 1.5 

Coarse bone meal 0.5 1.0 



Salt should be added to every mash, about an ounce being suf- 
ficient. Pepper may be added occasionally. Fresh lean meat may 
be substituted for beef scrap in any of the formulas, three quarts 
of the fresh being equal to one of the dried. Cottage cheese may 
be substituted in the same proportion, except that it is advisable 
not to replace all of the meat, one-half quart beef scrap and one and 
a half quarts cottage cheese being a much better proportion. The 
equivalent in pounds is given for convenience in ordering. The 
quarts represent the amount for 100 hens and may be multiplied or 
divided ad libitum. 

Fattening Fowls 

Fowls to be fattened should be confined in small yards or in 
coops or crates, especially adapted for feeding. The object in keep- 
ing them in confinement is to prevent the forming of muscle and 
sinew, which would occur if allowed to run at liberty. 



42 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



The crate used for fattening fowls can be four or six feet long. 
Mine were composed of lath six feet long; the frame of the crate 
is 6 feet long, 18 inches wide and 18 inches high, divided into six 
little stalls or compartments. The frame is covered with lath, 
placed lengthwise on the bottom, back and top the width of one 




Three-compartment Fattening Coop and Trough. 



lath apart. The first lath on the bottom should be two inches from 
the back to allow the droppings to fall through, otherwise they 
would lodge on the lath at the back. The lath are placed up and 
down in the front, the spaces between them being two inches wide 
to enable the chickens to feed from the trough. A "V" shaped 
trough is made to fit into two notches in cleats in front of each 
crate. The crate stands 15 inches from the ground; the droppings 
are received on sand or other absorbent material and removed daily. 
The coop is large enough to hold 12 or 18 young chicks (2 or 3 in a 
stall) or six full grown fowls. Fowls are fed three times a day all 
they will eat in 15 minutes. 

See cut of fattening crate. 

Formulas for fattening: 

(1) Equal parts of bran, cornmeal and oat meal (rolled break- 
fast oats) mixed with skim milk, fed three times a day. 

(2) Buckwheat flour, pulverized oats, cornmeal in equal parts, 
mixed thin with buttermilk. 

(3) Equal parts barley meal and oat meal and a half part of 
corn meal, mixed with buttermilk or skim milk. 

(4) A favorite French combination is two parts barley meal, 
one part cornmeal, one part buckwheat flour. 

A little salt and coarse sand should be added to their food. 
Three weeks is the length of time to continue the feeding. Chick- 
ens do not seem to be able to stand the confinement for a greater 
length of time. The last week of the fattening process, five per cent 
of cotton seed meal and a little tallow may be added to any of the 
above formulas. 



THE FEEDING PROBLEM 43 

Feeding Beans 

Our readers know our "Rule of three" — or the three essentials 
of egg production — Comfort, Exercise and Proper Food — and how 
very necessary each of this trio is for filling the egg basket. 

The successful poultry breeders, those that are really making 
money in the poultry or egg business, all and each follow our Rule 
of three. Some put more emphasis on one of the three conditions, 
and some on the other, but I find the man that uses all three essen- 
tials about evenly balanced is the successful man. 

Just at present there are several of our readers who are seek- 
ing for advice on the problem of the proper food and have appealed 
to me for information about the use of beans and some other foods 
which are available or cheap in their locality. I would like to 
help them discuss this subject together with the different breeds 
they are feeding. 

We all know that food is first necessary to sustain life, to enable 
the young fowls to grow and make their feathers, while it also 
enables the mature fowls to make and produce eggs. We have 
learnt that the body of the hen and the egg also is composed of 
water, mineral matter, nitrogenous matter and fat, and that to sus- 
tain life and growth and to produce eggs, the hen must be supplied 
with these elements. It is exceedingly interesting to learn the 
right proportion of these different elements that have to be supplied 
to the hen, all of which may be found in the analysis of the differ- 
ent foods given in the valuable bulletin "Poultry Feeding and Pro- 
prietary Foods," by Professor Jaffa of the University of California. 

Professor Rice of Cornell, in one of his lectures, says, "Feeding 
poultry is a science and an art." The science is in the knowing 
why, and the art is in the knowing how to do it. Our Professor 
Jaffa divides the food (this is the science part) into three classes : 
The protein, carbo-hydrates and fat. He explains that the word 
protein comes from a Greek word which means the chief thing — 
or the first thing — and the protein is the most important part of the 
food, for by it is made or produced the bone, muscle, blood, nerves, 
tendons, etc. The protein or nitrogenous matter of the hen's body 
and of the egg is formed by the nitrogenous matter (the protein) 
that is fed to the hen or that she finds in hunting on the range for 
her food, so anyone can see how important this element is in the 
food. 

The carbonaceous part of the food, which includes the fat and 
carbo-hydrates (sugar and starch), is mainly used as a fuel supply 
to the body and is the substance which is consumed in the pro- 
duction of heat and energy. We know or have learnt that an 
active fowl, such as a Leghorn that is always on the move, scratch- 
ing, running, flying, uses up more of the fat-producing food than a 
quieter, tamer, heavier fowl, such as the Plymouth Rock or Wyan- 
dotte or one of the Asiatics. 

The scientists have analyzed the food as well as the hen and 
have decided that a hen requires as a balanced ration for egg pro- 
duction one pound of protein to four pounds of carbo-hydrates, and 



44 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

we believe this and act on it by giving the hens animal food, green 
food and grain. We also want to get the food as cheaply as poss- 
ible to save our pocketbooks, and yet give the hens food that will 
bring the best results, this is usually eggs when eggs are dearest. 

The protein is the most expensive part of the food, consequently 
when we find a food that is inexpensive but contains a large amount 
of protein, we are glad to buy it, and then we must find out how to 
mix it or with what other food in order to get the right balance 
of one part of protein to 4 or 4.5 of carbo-hydrates. A ration means 
the food for a whole day. 

I am always glad to talk over the different foods and to help 
beginners decide what is the best and cheapest food for them to 
use in their locality. Several have lately asked about BEANS, 
how to feed them to the best advantage. Some years ago I had an 
opportunity of buying a large quantity of navy beans that had 
been held as seed beans but several sacks of them had become 
weevily. I studied Professor Jaffa's bulletin and decided that it 
would be a good plan to buy them, thinking that as they were small, 
the hens would eat them, but my hens did not take to them at 
first, so I sent the beans to the mill and had them coarsely ground, 
and I then soaked them over night with a little bicarbonate of soda 
in the water, and the next morning when the fire was lighted for 
breakfast, I put on the beans and let them cook at the back of the 
stove, taking them off at noon and mixing in bran and cornmeal, 
also a little alfalfa meal, and seasoning with salt and pepper as for 
the table. The hens like this mash made of bean soup, and never 
hens laid better than these. It was certainly a famous egg food. 

Recently I received letters from several of our readers asking 
about feeding beans, and I replied, giving Professor Jaffa's analysis, 
but I afterwards received a letter asking me for the analysis and 
the value of "broad Windsor beans," and as there was no analysis 
of them in the bulletin, I sent some of them to the Agricultural 
College to have them analyzed. Professor Jaffa not only analyzed 
them, but also analyzed some "horse beans," as I said that Windsor 
beans were sometimes called horse beans and were largely fed to 
horses in some places. The horse beans that he bought were 
larger than the Windsor beans that I sent him and he found both' 
of them so exceedingly rich in protein that, to be certain there was 
no mistake, he had the analysis duplicated, done over twice. 

Analysis of Horse Beans 

Per cents 

Water 14.05 

Ash 2.10 

Protein 25.10 

Fat ; 1.60 

Fiber 6.63 

Starch, etc 50 52 

Total 100.00 



THE FEEDING PROBLEM 45 

Analysis of Windsor Beans 

Per cents 

Water 10.98 

Ash 3.02 

Protein 18.80 

Fat ; 1.58 

Fiber 6.65 

Starch, etc 58.97 

Total 100.00 

Analysis of Navy Beans 

Per cents 

Water 12.60 

Ash 3.50 

Protein 22.50 

Fat 1.80 

Fiber : 4.40 

Starch, etc 55.20 

Total 100.00 

It will be seen by these analyses how rich in protein are the 
beans, and, therefore, what a valuable food for fowls. Realizing 
the value of this, in order to help other of our readers, I wrote to 
A. A. W. for further information about the beans he had sent me, 
and received the following reply : 

"The beans are commonly known in England (where they are 
very popular) as 'broad Windsor beans,' but to the best of my 
remembrance these are a smaller species. I raised these here on 
rich soil apparently high in nitrogen, judging by the rank top 
growth of various crops planted therein ; the vines averaged a 
height of over seven feet, which is more than double that claimed 
for them by the seedsmen, who do not usually underestimate the 
vigor and prolificacy of their well-advertised goods- I have a copy 
of your poultry book and believe I have derived much profit from 
it, as I am raising broilers and feeding them entirely according to 
your directions* ; some of them weigh close on to two pounds each, 
and none of them are over six weeks and four days old, raised in 
brooder coops without hens or artificial heat, but with the best 
possible care and attention to details, and with less loss than I ex- 
pected, as this is my first experience of this way of raising them. 
May I trouble you to inform me of the best method of feeding the 
beans to chicks of various ages, as I have others at different stages. 
I have fed them occasionally to month-old chicks in small quantities 
by soaking until the skins will slip, then chopping up fine with 
bran to make a crumbly mash. I would much like to know if this 
is a good combination or otherwise, and how best and when to feed, 
and the proportion of beans, and whether chopped up dry, soaked 
or cooked. 

"My idea in discarding the skins is that being very tough and 
leathery, they might possibly be indigestible." 

In reply to this, the skins are very tough, that is, the skins 
of both horse beans and Windsor beans, and it was a wise precau- 

* See Rations for Broilers, page 39. 



46 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

tion to take them off for the little chicks, but that would scarcely 
be possible or profitable if you are feeding much to mature hens, as 
it would take too much time and labor. 

In feeding either old or young you can make one-fifth of the 
food of the beans if you have plenty of them, but I would advise 
not more than that. Your way of mixing the chopped-up beans 
with bran and milk is good, but I would suggest adding a little 
cornmeal, about one-fifth of the amount of the mash. This would 
be a better balanced mash. As you have had such good results 
from following my instructions and formula for feeding broilers, 
I think you had better continue it and not make any change, or if 
for any good reason you are obliged to make a change in the food 
make the change very gradually ; that is, add only a few spoonsful 
of the new food each day until at the end of about two weeks you 
have got them to willingly accept the new food. A sudden change 
of almost any kind will stop the egg output partially or sometimes 
totally. You have to remember there is a difference between va- 
riety, which is excellent for fowls, and change, which almost in- 
variably results disastrously. 

The best way to feed the beans (Windsor or horse beans) would 
be to have them ground and feed them in the dry mash for all the 
chickens, large or small ; for the very little fellows nothing could 
be better than the way you are now doing. 

When I received this letter I wrote to a successful poultryman 
and egg farmer, who has been feeding beans for some time very 
successfully, and I copy his letter for the benefit especially of those 
residing in bean-growing districts, where beans can be often bought 
very cheaply. The writer can be thoroughly relied upon as to 
accuracy. 

"Your cordial letter reached us today, and I take pleasure in 
answering your questions concerning our use of beans for hens. 

"The variety we used and are still using is what is called here 
the black-eyed bean. I think it is called 'cow peas' in some parts of 
the country. The flavor of this bean is more like that of the pea 
than of the bean. For a long time we fed them whole, with corn, 
wheat and whole barley, equal parts of each. The hens ate them 
as readily as they did the other grains, except wheat. 

"We fed it also in the mash, with ground barley, cornmeal and 
beans, about equal parts of each. We found that our hens increased 
their egg production about twenty per cent. 

These beans are rich in protein, about 22%, and are about 85% 
digestible, so you will see that fed with wheat, corn and barley 
they are a valuable addition to the dietary of hens. If we could 
get these beans, we should continue their use, but we are unable 
to get any more of them. If you know where they can be had for a 
reasonable price, we should be pleased to have you inform us. 
I have no doubt that hens could be induced to eat lima beans, at 
least in the mash, as you know lima beans are rich in protein, but 
possibly may not be as digestible as the black-eye. I hope this 
information may be of use to you." 



THE FEEDING PROBLEM 47 

In this article we give the scientific side, the analysis of three 
kinds of beans, and also the practical use of them by three different 
poultry breeders. This will answer several other inquiries on the 
subject, and we hope prove useful to many of our readers. 

Feeding Alfalfa 

Alfalfa is one of the most valuable of green foods for both cat- 
tle and poultry. I have found by my own experience that what is, 
good for the milch cow is good for the laying hen. You know the 
Holstein does best on a large amount of succulent food, while the 
smaller Jersey is adapted to a more concentrated diet; so with the 
different breeds of hens, the Leghorn needs a wider ration than 
the Plymouth Rock, the ration that would bring the largest amount 
of eggs from the Leghorn would so fatten the Rock that it might 
prevent her laying. 

Where alfalfa is abundant the following ration will give good 
results. Alfalfa hay or meal when good is rich in protein and re- 
sembles wheat bran in analysis. In the last analysis of alfalfa hay 
or meal Professor Jaffa gives protein 12.3, carbo-hydrates 37.1, fat 
1.6; while wheat bran has protein 12.62, carbo-hydrates 38.88, fat 
2.5. By this you see that whilst the protein content of alfalfa 
meal is almost the same as wheat bran, the fat, sugar and starch is 
decidedly lower, also the crude fiber, which is indigestible, in alfalfa 
meal is 22.63 per cent, whilst in bran it is only 8.60 per cent, to coun- 
terbalance this we can use more corn meal or some linseed meal. 
While alfalfa is rich in protein, it has been found by experi- 
ment that the fowls need animal protein, as substitute for bugs and 
worms, so to the ration must be added animal food in some shape, 
usually beef scrap,, meat meal or milk. Cottage cheese is one of 
the best animal proteins. 

The following ration will prove satisfactory: Alfalfa meal, 50 
lbs.; corn meal, 20 lbs.; barley meal, 10 lbs.; beef scrap, 10 lbs.; 
coarse bone meal, 10 lbs. 

I gave my Indian runner ducks a similar ration : 30 lbs. alfalfa 
meal, 30 lbs. heavy bran, 30 lbs. corn meal, 10 lbs. beef scrap; giv- 
ing at the same time all the crushed clam shells they would eat. 
On this ration ducks averaged 233 eggs each per year, and kept in 
perfect health. 

I wrote to Mr. Hammonds, who is manager of the largest 
broiler plant in the country and an expert poultryman, a graduate 
of Cornell, and asked about a pullet that he was bringing up on 
nothing but alfalfa and milk. His answer is as follows : 

"The pullet you refer to laid 253 eggs from August 7, 1910, to 
August 7, 1911, and she gained one and a quarter pounds in weight. 
All of her eggs, except the first six, weighed two ounces or more 
and were of good shape and shell. She was fed from the time she 
was two months old until she was five months old and showed 
signs of laying on alfalfa meal moistened with milk, and rolled 
barley as grain. From the time she was five months old till the 
test was finished she was fed a dry mash composed of the follow- 



48 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



ing: Alfalfa meal, 3 lbs.; barley meal, 2 lbs.; bran, 1 lb.; corn meal, 
1 lb., and fine beef scrap, 1 lb. As grain, she received one handful 
of rolled barley at 4 p.m. each day. Aside from this she had dry 
alfalfa hay as a litter. After she began laying she was often 
tempted with green alfalfa but did not seem to care for it, there- 
fore she was not fed any green stuff". 




" Champion JUMBQ^stPrnze CYrtGHiCftGQ ftec.'OB 



BREEDING, LINE-BREEDING, IN-BREEDING, ETC. 



The subject of breeding for best results in the poultry yard is 
exceedingly interesting, and is being developed more and more 
every year, not only by poultry breeders, but I believe by some of 
the government experiment stations. 

There is "in-breeding," "line-breeding," "out-breeding," "cross- 
breeding," and no breeding at all. 

Many people are afraid of in-breeding. By this is usually 
meant breeding brother and sister together for generations, without 
the infusion of new blood. This kind of in-breeding is very apt 
to result disastrously, because in such a flock the best, biggest 
and most vigorous are sent to the market, and the inferior ones are 
kept at home for breeders, unless a neighbor steps in and lends a 
cockerel to solve the difficulty. 

For fear of the flock deteriorating, many people think it abso- 
lutely necessary to have new blood in their flock every year, and 
here is where the danger comes in for those who are raising thor- 
oughbreds. If you buy pure-bred male of the same breed to 
mate with your pure-bred female from another strain or family, 
you may get one that will improve your flock, or one which will 
bring you disqualified birds. This getting new blood of the same 
family is called "out-breeding." J. H. Robinson says: "Most of 
the evils assigned to in-breeding are not due, to in-breeding, but to 
careless selection. There is no evidence that in-breeding necessar- 
ily initiates degeneracy. There is abundant evidence that with 
proper selection for stamina to avoid common defects, very close 
in-breeding can be followed for a long time without injuring the 
stock. There is also abundant evidence that breeding unrelated 
fowls without careful attention to vigor, and avoidance of common 
defects is at once attended with precisely the same results as 
breeding fowls of near kin under the same conditions." 

In making the new breeds, in-breeding is necessary to fix the 
color, shape, etc. If it is necessary to fix superiority in color, it 
is necessary to fix it in shape. If it is necessary to fix it in shape, 
it is necessary to fix superior laying capacity, for rapid growth and 
vigor. In-breeding is necessary because there cannot be intelligent 
breeding without in-breeding. 

"Line-breeding," or breeding in line, is keeping to the same 
family, the same blood. It is very careful in-breeding. When we 
line breed we simply limit the number of ancestors in the fowl's 
pedigree. By so doing we intensify the qualities in the fowl, for 
it has been established beyond doubt that the mating of nearly 
related individuals has a tendency to intensify the traits or char- 
acteristics which they possess in common. As an example, I had 
a White Plymouth Rock hen (Snow Queen), a 95>4 point bird. 
She laid 225 eggs in 9 months. I mated her, when I discovered her 
wonderful qualities, to my first prize male. Four of her daughters 
from that mating were prize-winners. The following year I mated 
her to her best son, and the third year to her son who was also 



SO MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

her grandson. By this last mating, the offspring were 15-16 of her 
blood. I sold a few settings of this mating, one to a gentleman in 
Sacramento. He wrote me afterwards that he won first cock, first 
hen and first pen at the Poultry Show, with seven of her offspring ; 
but, he added, "the great recommendation to your fowls is their 
wonderful vigor and healthfulness. All my other fowls have had 
roup and chicken-pox; in fact, I have lost more than half, and 
while yours were brought up with them, they seem absolutely im- 
mune to all sickness." 

Another setting of eggs I sold to a party south of town. I 
heard later that one of the hens hatched from that setting laid 105 
eggs in 110 consecutive days. By careful in-breeding it is possible 
to intensify the good qualities of great egg-laying and great vigor. 
A hen to be a great layer must have vigor. 

To illustrate what is meant by line-breeding, I would take a. 
good pair or trio of the best birds procurable; raise the young, 
carefully feeding for strength and vigor. The vigor of a flock is 
sustained not by introducing new blood, but by selecting breeding 
birds for vigor. Vigorous birds beget vigorous offspring; weak 
birds weak offspring, whether kin or not. The second year I would 
mate the father with two of his best daughters and the best son 
back to the mother hen, and use these two families as two different 
strains for new blood, each year selecting the best from either 
family. By the best, I do not mean the handsomest; I mean 
among the cockerels the most vigorous, active and up-to-standard 
birds, and among the pullets the best layers as well as the earliest 
maturing, largest and handsomest. Let it be understood that to 
breed from birds because they are related without making selections 
of points desired, is as wrong as to refuse to mate related fowls. 
By breeding from only vigorous stock, and observing the rule not 
to mate fowls having the same bad defects, mating together only 
fowls which in individual merit and in pedigree (whether akin or 
no kin) are .what they should be for the purpose of the mating,, 
you may be sure of avoiding mistakes. 

"I am afraid of in-breeding," said a lady to me recently. "The 
book says change cockerels with your neighbor." I do not know 
from what book she was quoting, but I went to see her fowls. She 
had really fine standard-bred fowls to commence with, but she had 
ruined the flock by trading cockerels. A friend of mine intending 
to purchase them asked me to look at them, but I could not recom- 
mend them, as I knew the offspring would not be desirable. 

Many persons wishing to purchase fowls from me (when I was 
in the business) would say, "Can you sell me two or four hens and 
a cockerel not related?" I replied that I could and would if they 
wished, as I had fifteen separate pens and marked all my young 
fowls, but if they asked me to mate for best results, I would give 
them hens from my best layers, mated to a cockerel that was partly 
related to them, for I knew then the offspring would be of as 
good quality as the parents. To know this takes some years of 



BREEDING, LINE AND IN-BREEDING 51 

"close observation and close selection," which is the rule for line- 
breeding. 

When I wanted new blood of late years, I would get a setting 
of eggs from the best breeder I knew. Select the two pullets from 
this brood, mate them with one of my own males, and then await 
results. Some years they would be quite satisfactory ; if other- 
wise, they were consigned to the table and proved delicious eating. 
When the results were good, I had fine young ones and new blood 
which I knew would mate with mine and not deteriorate my fowls 
in regards to looks and standard points, but I could not tell for 
two years how the laying qualities of the offspring might be af- 
fected. Here is a place where "close observation" comes in. The 
pullets were trap-nested for a season, and then if they came up 
to my ideal I had the satisfaction of knowing I had made another 
success. This getting in new blood of the same breed is called 
"out-breeding." 

I know a farmer's wife who had good pure-bred Plymouth 
Rocks, prize winners. She sent away and bought a first-prize win- 
ner — a beautiful cockerel. She thought she would have prize win- 
ners for the next show, when, to her grief, she found that all the 
progeny of that cockerel were disqualified birds. The cockerel did 
not "nick" with the hens, though they were of the same breed. 
This out-breeding was a failure. If she thought fresh blood neces- 
sary, she should have purchased a cockerel from the same breeder 
of whom she purchased her original stock, and she should have had 
one that had some of the same blood as the pullets, or if she could 
not do that, she should have bought a good pullet and mated her 
to the best male, and if the cockerel from that mating proved good 
she could have used one the following year. "Out-breeding" as she 
did, is a sort of lottery, and one cannot be certain of results. 

Crossing, cross-breeding or out-crossing, all of which mean the. 
same thing, is introducing blood from a distinctly different breed. 
The first cross will usually give better layers, and occasionally will 
produce good birds, but the progeny of these will be mongrels un- 
less a pure-bred male is introduced each year. The new breeds, 
such as the Orpington, etc., are made by cross-breeding and then by 
close in-breeding. There is, however, one breed in America which 
has been made entirely by out-crossing; that is the Rhode Island 
Reds. This breed has been made by bringing vigorous blood on 
the male side "Red cocks" from China, Chittagong, Malay, etc., 
and mating them with the farm fowls of Rhode Island. This out- 
crossing has produced a breed of great vigor and prolificacy. Cross- 
ing, as a rule, is not advisable, because one can never be certain 
which parent the young will resemble ; they will be large or small, 
some of one color, some of another, irregular in maturing and ir- 
regular in shape for market. 

However, I knew a farmer's daughter in New York who wished 
to improve her flock of mongrels of all shapes and colors. She 
bought a "line-bred" Plymouth Rock cockerel, and the following 
summer she found that nearly all the young stock had Plymouth 



52 . MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

Rock markings, even the offspring of the Cochin hens had feathers 
to their toes. The next year she bought again from the same 
breeder another vigorous Plymouth Rock, and by the end of that 
season she had, apparently, a flock of fine Plymouth Rocks. I say 
apparently, because if she had mated them together, she would have 
had mongrels the following season, but as it was she worked the 
mongrel old stock off and had fine looking Plymouth Rocks that 
proved excellent layers. A line-bred cockerel has greater prepo- 
tency than one indefinitely bred. That is, he will reproduce him- 
self or leave his marks strongly upon his progeny. This was the 
case with my New York friend's birds. Hers were "cross-bred," 
or what farmers would call "grade" Plymouth Rocks. 

The male bird, if he comes from a line-bred family, will be 
more prepotent than the female. He will impress his qualities 
or characteristics, good or bad, on his progeny more than a male 
that is not line-bred, and the male is considered half the pen. 
His part is the germ, the seed, from which will grow the chick. 
For this reason, choose the good, strong, vigorous cockerel, active 
and stirring, to head your pen and take a pure-bred instead of a 
mongrel, because in this way you will build up a flock of fine birds. 

"Line-breeding" is keeping in the same family for years, each 
year choosing the most vigorous of both rnales and females to con- 
tinue the succession. Line-breeding is very careful and closely 
selected in-breeding. 

"Out-breeding" is introducing new blood, but of the same breed. 

"Cross-breeding" or "out-crossing" is introducing distinctly new 
blood of an entirely different breed. 

There is some diversion of opinion as to the best ages of parent 
stock to produce the strongest chicks, but it is usually accepted 
that fowls are generally at their best at twenty to twenty-four 
months of age. If they are not then in good condition, the breeder 
should look for something wrong in his method of handling stock. 
A hen coming two years old will, if properly handled between sea- 
sons, lay as well the second year as the first, and lay larger eggs 
which will hatch stronger and better chicks. A cock of the same 
age should be in his prime. The mating of males and females of 
this age will, other things being equal, give better results than 
any other age. However, well-grown young fowls would make 
better breeders than two-year-olds not in good condition. Many 
breeders advise mating a cock bird to pullets, and a cockerel to 
hens. Generally, these matings give better results than the matings 
of cockerels and pullets, but not as good as matings of two-year- 
olds. 

The principal quality looked for in mating birds is vigor, 
whether you are mating for market or for egg laying or for fancy 
feathering. 

Breeding Chart 

A clear conception of the methods followed in line breeding 
may be had by reference to the accompanying chart which has 
been drawn from one published several years ago by I. K. Felch, 



BREEDING, LINE AND IN-BREEDING 



53 



the veteran Light Brahma breeder. In this chart the solid circles 
and segments represent the male blood elements, and the solid lines 
that a male has been chosen from the group from which they start. 
The white circles and segments represent the female blood ele- 
ments and the dotted lines that the females have been chosen from 
the group from which they start. The shaded circle represents a 
scheme for the admission of new blood. Suppose we have two 
extra good birds which when mated together produce high-class 
offspring. Then the problem is how to perpetuate the quality of 



Like Breed/kg Chsirt 

/9F T£R /. K. FELCH 



Generations 



Hale Line. 




Female L/q/e 



' I i 



O >" 



*K / 



I 2 n d 




£S&*+h. 



3& 



*© «• *€> £> €)^ f/ 



16 II 



12 



/J 



14- IS 



By Courtesy of "Breeder's Gazette." 



the parents and offspring without the dangers of close in-breeding 
or of destroying the results of several years of work, by violent 
out-crossing. By following line breeding, three blood lines may 
be developed, one of which shall contain a preponderance of orig- 
inal male blood, one a preponderance of original female blood, and 
the third equal proportions of original male and female blood. 
In the chart let 1 represent the original male and 2 the original 



54 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

female. Then, by crossing 1 and 2, the result is group 3, which pos- 
sesses equal parts of the blood of 1 and 2. Selecting the best pullet 
from 3 and mating to her sire 1, group 4 is produced, which con- 
tains three-fourths of the blood of the original sire and one-fourth 
of the blood of the original dam. In a like manner the best cock- 
erel from 3" mated to his dam 2 produces group 5, which is made 
up of three-fourths of the blood of the original dam and one-fourth 
of the blood of the original sire. Proceeding in a similar manner 
by mating the original parents to their offspring in the third gener- 
ation, we obtain at groups 6 and 7 offspring which contain either 
seven-eighths the blood of the original sire and one-eighth of the 
blood of the original dam, or seven-eighths the blood of the original 
dam and one-eighth the blood of the original sire, as the case may 
be. Thus the blood of the original sire has been practically elim- 
inated from the female line, and the blood of the original dam from 
the male line. If the original parents were still in breeding con- 
dition, the blood of each could be intensified to 15-16 in the fifth 
generation. To obtain the original cross, however, at any gener- 
ation after the second, it is only necessary to select parents from 
corresponding groups on each side of the line, as for instance, a cock- 
erel from group 6 mated to pullets from group 7 will produce, in 
the fifth generation, group 9, which contains mathematically one- 
half the blood of the original pair. Similar results can be obtained 
by selecting parents from 4 and 5. 

The fifth and sixth generations, as shown in the chart, indicate 
only a few of the possible groups that may be obtained from vari- 
ous matings. 

The danger of using new stock not akin to one's own is far 
greater than the danger of line-breeding vigorous birds of known 
pedigree, as is proven by the following case in point : A breeder of 
Reds who had sold a fine pen two years previously of such excel- 
lence that she felt safe in buying back a cockerel raised from them, 
resembling in every way the sire sold, for the pen had been care- 
fully line-bred and mated for best results ; she used this bird with 
her finest hens and sold eggs from them, and every chick of this 
cockerel's get had white feathers enough to disqualify it. After 
this cockerel moulted, the beautiful red of his plumage was sprink- 
led all through with patches of white feathers. Close inquiry di- 
vulged the fact that the breeder had allowed his Reds and Whites 
to run together until a few weeks before mating time, trusting to 
this short period of time to remove the bad effects of commingling, 
Now, scientific men maintain that the danger of contamination of 
the female is far greater than is generally believed. Some even 
assert that a pullet's first mating influences her whole progeny, no 
matter how carefully she may be mated thereafter, and that the 
taint of foreign blood can never be eliminated from her offspring. 
There is much of truth in this theory, for the blood of the mother 
partakes of the blood of the sire through the blood of the unborn 
germ, whether egg or foetus, circulating through her. We can 
never be too careful to keep our hens and pullets safely yarded, 
and we should beware of strange males as of the plague itself. 



BREEDING, LINE AND IN-BREEDING 



55 



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WHEN TO HATCH 



Solomon has said, "There is a time for everything under the 
sun," so there must be a best time for hatching chickens. 

"When you are in doubt consult nature." If we consult nature 
she will undoubtedly say the spring is the proper time, the only 
time for hatching feathered fowl of all kinds- 
Wild birds only lay their eggs in the springtime, and it is only 
in the spring that nature gives them the proper food for raising the 
young. Then, again, other birds, like the domestic fowls and pig- 
eons, have been for thousands of generations trained to lay eggs 
the year round and to hatch them when man so desires. 

In Egypt, where the hatching for thousands of years has been 
done in enormous hatcheries, the hens have lost the natural desire 
and instinct for incubation, yet even there the hatcheries are only 
used during the spring months, when nature would hatch. 

The introduction of incubators into America, however, and 
American progressiveness have, one might say, changed the course 
'of nature, making it almost a question of convenience or expedi- 
ency when to hatch chickens. 

I have hatched successfully every month in the year in Califor- 
nia, so I know it can be done, but it is not always expedient to do 
so, and for the benefit of beginners I will relate some of my ex- 
periences. . 

When first I came to California I was informed by a poultry- 
man that he never used his incubators later than March, for there 
was no use in trying to raise late-hatched chickens. Another 
breeder, who was hatching about eight hundred chickens per year 
and hatching only with hens, told me that he hatched whenever the 
hens wanted to set, except during August and September, as he 
found that chickens hatched during those two months did not ma- 
ture any quicker, nor lay any sooner than chickens hatched in Oc- 
tober, and he did not see the use of having to feed and care for 
chickens for two months extra, and those two months at the hottest 
time of the year. He was a very successful breeder, winning at the 
shows whenever he exhibited. His winning pullets were hatched 
in April, May and June, his cockerels earlier, usually. 

The best brood I ever hatched came out on Thanksgiving day, 
the last Thursday in November. I found that the eggs as a rule 
were not as fertile in the fall as in the spring, and after some 
years of experience I refused to sell eggs for hatching in the fall. 

I remember one time an eastern breeder, who had just arrived, 
came to me in the fall and wanted to buy several settings of eggs. 
I told him that I did not care to sell so early in the season, but ne 
argued, "You are running your own incubators, why should you 
refuse me?" I explained to him that I could not guarantee the fer- 
tility of the eggs so early and rather than have customers disap- 
pointed I made a rule of not selling. I acknowledged that I hatched 
for myself at that season. He still persisted that nearly all the 
hens appeared to be through the moult, all were in vigorous health, 



WHEN TO HATCH 57 

were being fed the ration for fertility, and he would be perfectly 
satisfied with a forty per cent fertility, for he knew the difficulty 
of getting fertile eggs at that season. I let him have several set- 
tings and he was more than satisfied with the results. 

I made a practice of hatching every egg that I could in the 
fall, commencing toward the end of September or first of October, 
and my reasons for so doing were, first, that it paid. 

My object was to get cockerels that would be vigorous breeders 
at eighteen months of age or in the early spring, when they were 
about that age, while those that were culls would be in good con- 
dition either as broilers or fryers in the winter and bring high prices 
then, as there would be but few then on the market; so I was after 
cockerels first, and here I made some rather interesting discoveries 
which year after year were confirmed by a long series of experi- 
ments. 

I had read (as I sometimes still read) in poultry magazines that 
the male birds ought to be entirely separated from the female dur- 
ing the summer, or at any rate during the moult, or whenever the 
eggs were not being used for hatching. I read that it was neces- 
sary to give the birds a complete rest, in order that they might be 
in a vigorous condition when they were wanted for breeding. Theo- 
retically, this sounded plausible and I tried it, and to my great dis- 
appointment I found that the male birds that had been my best 
breeders did not regain their vigor for months, and some of them 
never again. 

The organs of reproduction had become atrophied or dormant 
by disuse, and it was not until the following spring (nature's own 
season) that they became active again. Since making sure of this 
from many experiments, I have never entirely isolated the males 
that have been mated. I always leave two pullets with each. It 
really made me feel sorry for the male bird ; he would at first fret so 
for the customary society and even when put with cockerels to po- 
lice them and prevent them from quarreling, he seemed out of place 
and restless. 

To have fertile eggs in the fall we must again consult nature 
and copy her rations at the time when she has fertile eggs — that is, 
in the springtime. 

First — The rations then are tender greens just sprouting, and 
grubs and worms with but little grain, for then the grain is all 
sprouting. Then, again, by the springtime the fowls will not be so 
fat as they were in the fall, when nature provided a liberal supply 
of grains to give the necessary fat to keep them warm in the win- 
ter. By the springtime they will have lost that, still they will be 
vigorous and active. To have fertile eggs in the fall or at any time 
we must duplicate the conditions of springtime. Give an abund- 
ance of tender green, with sufficient animal food, and to induce 
exercise the grain should be fed in deep straw, so the hens will have 
to scratch and work for it. 

When I began hatching in the fall my object was to get fall- 
hatched cockerels. It was cockerels I wanted. From past experi- 



58 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

ence I had found that when I mated cockerels to old hens I usually 
had a large preponderance of cockerels, so I mated two-year-old 
hens to cockerels. Sometimes I mated only three hens to a 
cockerel, sometimes as many as ten. I also tried two-year-old 
males or even older with the hens in the fall, with the following 
results and discoveries, which I relate, not as conclusive evidence, 
for as the old saying is, "One swallow does not make a summer," 
and it would take more than one year's experiments at an agricul- 
tural station to prove that what I am relating as my experiences are 
always and conclusively the same. 

First, I discovered that I could not absolutely govern the sex ; 
secondly, I found that some males sired more males than females, 
and that it was not the most vigorous males that sired the most 
males ; it was the smaller, younger or less matured birds ; thirdly, 
I discovered, and this experience occurred over and over again, 
that the first eggs laid by hens after a period of rest, such as the 
moult, and also the first eggs of pullets, hatched more females than 
males and also that the darker shelled eggs (mine were White Ply- 
mouth Rocks) contained females oftener than males. I found that 
the first eggs laid after a rest were nearly always darker or else 
spotted with dark marks, and that when in the fall I was most 
anxious to get males, there were more females than males, as it 
was just after a period of rest. This was a disappointment to me 
at first, but later on I found that among those females hatched in 
October and November were my very best layers. 

I might have known that pullets hatched from hens that were 
laying in the fall just when eggs cost the most would be likely 
to lay plentifully at that same time of year, but I did not realize 
it until the conviction was forced upon me by my own experience. 
Not all of the pullets were the best layers, but a preponderance of 
my best layers were hatched in the fall. After I had found that 
among my own White Plymouth Rocks the cockerels hatched in 
the fall were my best breeders and that the pullets were remark- 
ably fine layers, I made it a rule to hatch every hatchable egg then. 
"Like begets like," if you hatch from the hens that are good fall 
and winter layers you will run a good chance of getting offspring 
from them that will come up to their mother's achievements, and 
if you know how to breed and mate them to males of the same 
good strain you will keep on improving your breed until you have 
grand layers. 

A person can breed for whatever he or she wants — for fine 
feathers in the show room ; for the best of table fowls for market ; 
for prolific layers ; for layers of large eggs, of colored eggs, or of 
white eggs. It is all a matter of selection and a study of the breed- 
ing qualities of your fowls. By just making up your mind what 
to do and how to do it and keeping the one object in view all the 
time you will succeed, there is no doubt about it. 

But to return to our question : "When is the best time for hatch- 
ing chickens?" Springtime, March, is the best time; but you can 
hatch also whenever your old hen wants to sit. You must remem- 



WHEN TO HATCH 



59 



ber, however, to give the chicks as nearly as possible the conditions 
of spring. The reason that I say spring is the best time is because 
it is nature's time and the eggs will be more fertile then; the fer- 
tility will be stronger and the chicks also. Very much depends 
upon the way in which the parent birds are cared for and the food 
they have. To have strong, healthy chicks the parents must be 
vigorous ; aim for vigor in your poultry yard first and foremost, and 
then for whatever you most want. 




Goodacre Rhode Island Red Cockerel, Prize Winner Many Time. 



FERTILE EGGS 



In the early spring we receive many letters of inquiry from 
beginners as to how they shall get fertile eggs or why the eggs 
are not fertile. It is of vital consequence to understand this matter 
somewhat. 

To secure fertile eggs and strong chicks that will grow and 
make good breeders, that, will be sturdy and vigorous and bring a 
profit, both the parents should be vigorous and healthy. 

To grow vigorous chickens they must be well born and to 
accomplish this it is absolutely necessary to have the breeding 
stock in the very best of health. The females, as well as the males, 
should have entirely completed the moult. 

The birds should be mature, both physically and sexually. This 
is a very important matter, for an egg may be fertile and yet not 
exclude the chick from it; the germ may not be vigorous enough 
to develop into a chicken capable of breaking its way out of the 
shell. More than mere size is needed in the male bird; maturity 
and vigor are necessary. The male should be of large and vigorous 
frame, well filled out, gallant to the females and ready to fight any 
intruder. He should have a full, deep voice and have lost the air 
of immaturity which the young birds always have. He should be 
ten months old or over, with hackles and sickles well developed 
and spurs of a fair size. Such a male will fertilize the eggs strongly 
and produce vigorous and sturdy chicks ; the eggs will not only be 
fertile, but will be hatchable. 

A male bird which is immature may fertilize many of the eggs, 
but it will be found that there are weak germs and many of these 
will never develop, or if they do, the chicks produced will be weak 
and inferior. Immature males are largely to blame for poor hatches 
and chicks dead in the shell. A cockerel is usually at his best when 
he is a year old, and from that time until he is three or four years 
old he can be used safely. During the breeding season the vigor of 
the male bird must be watched ; he should have extra food with 
high protein content, that is, extra meat, to keep him vigorous. If 
mated to eight or ten vigorous females and if he is gallant, they will 
usually eat most of the animal food away from him, unless it is fed 
in the dry mash, and suddenly you may discover that the male that 
is heading your pen has lost strength and vitality with a corre- 
sponding loss in the hatchability of the eggs. 

Much has been written on the importance of having fully ma- 
tured and well developed females, but the best females cannot pro- 
duce hatchable eggs if mated to an immature or weakly male. 

I have found that two years of age is about the best for both 
sexes, otherwise have a year's difference in the ages of the pair of 
birds. Mate a one-year-old male to older females, say, two, three 
or four years older, or an older male to females of one year of age. 
Here in California I always try to have my male birds hatched in 
the fall ; this was to make them at their best in the breeding season, 
fifteen or eighteen months later ; also, I thought that males hatched 



FERTILE EGGS 61 

in the fall would be the fathers of hens that would lay in the early 
winter, and I wanted fall and early winter eggs on account of the 
market price. I also found that my fall hatched pullets were earlier 
layers than the spring hatched ; most of my record hens were 
hatched in November. 

Another point in securing fertile eggs is to decide upon the 
number of hens that may be safely mated to a vigorous male. It 
has been found that the American breeds do best if one male is 
mated to from eight to ten females ; with the Asiatic the number 
is one male to from six to eight females; while the Leghorns or 
Mediterraneans from twelve to twenty females, can be mated to a 
vigorous bird. These will strongly fertilize the eggs. 

In my own yards I found that close observation was necessary ; 
sometimes a male will apparently pay no attention to one or two 
females in his yard, and if after mating for three or four weeks I 
find the eggs from one of the females is not fertile, I remove her 
to another yard. I do not approve of changing the males in a yard, 
as some have advocated. The theory may be plausible, but in prac- 
tice I have found it detrimental. It gives a feeling of unrest in the 
yards and retards egg production, as anything disturbing will, and 
causes a loss of fertility. I find it best to mate up for the season 
and then leave them alone without change of any kind, unless for 
some special cause. 

A "line-bred" male is more prepotent than a male of no breed- 
ing, and will strongly impress his female offspring with the char- 
acteristics of the females in his line. Be very sure that your male 
is vigorous. 

Feeding for fertility is another necessity in getting hatchable 
eggs. Here we may consult Nature. The spring is the time that 
Nature gives the fertile eggs; let us feed as much as possible as 
she does. Let us be sure to give plenty of tender, green, succulent 
food, as well as animal food to supply the place of the grubs and 
worms, which Nature gives, but in making any radical change in 
the food, make the change gradually. There is a difference between 
change and variety. A great variety will give fertility, while a 
radical change of any kind will cause a loss of eggs as well as loss 
of fertility. Among the green foods that give fertility, the fore- 
most is alfalfa. Give the fowls all the alfalfa or clover that you 
can induce them to eat. Give all the grain in the scratching pen, 
so they will have to work and exercise for every grain. Nothing 
helps the fertility so much as the exercise of scratching and nothing 
costs much less. One prominent poultry breeder told me that it 
costs him exactly one cent a month per hen to keep fresh wheat 
straw in his pen; the hens scratch in that and also eat a consid- 
erable amount of the straw. 

The grain most conducive to fertility is oats. I always use 
oatmeal in the dry mash during the breeding season, also sprouted 
oats. These are given besides the mixed grain in the scratching 
pen. 



62 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

The animal food should be as much as possible, fresh green bone 
and meat, skim milk and beef scraps. The fresh meat is the best 
of all, but it must be fresh. Those living- where rabbits or wild 
game are abundant can supply this. At the sea coast, fish and the 
little crabs or clams make a valuable addition to the animal food. 

Of course, good, sharp grit, crushed oyster shell and charcoal 
should be before the hen all the time. 



TESTING EGGS FOR INCUBATION 



Success is what we all want to attain in whatever we undertake, 
and I earnestly hope that my practical talks on poultry may help 
others to make a success of it. 

"Success with the Japanese," wrote George Kennan, in one of 
his interesting articles during the war, "is not a matter of perhaps 
or somehow or other, nor does it depend upon the grace of a merci- 
ful God. It is carefully 'pre-arranged' by an intelligent forethought, 
a perfect system and an attention to details that I have never seen 
surpassed." 

Success in the poultry yard can be attained or "pre-arranged" in 
exactly the same manner. Failure in the chicken business (as in 
warfare) is due to lack of forethought, lack of system, and care- 
lessness with regard to details. Forethought is the studying up and 
thinking how to do a thing, thinking out beforehand the best way 
of doing' it and arranging for it. 

The experiences of others by teaching us may save us not only 
dollars and cents, but chagrin and disappointment. I spend a good 
deal of my time in visiting the ranches of some of my correspond- 
ents, either to help them out of difficulties, or to mate up their pens 
for them, or to start up their incubators, or to overhaul their brood- 
ers or plan their henneries, and in this way I become acquainted 
with the needs and difficulties of a number of amateurs or begin- 
ners in the poultry business. Some of the troubles of others may 
teach us what "not to do." 

"I wish you could tell me what is the matter," wrote one. "1 
had good luck last year, but only half the fertile eggs hatched last 
time." 

I answered by spending a day at her ranch. "What is the mat- 
ter with your hatches?" said I, "and on what day did they come 
out?" 

"The first hatch this season came out on the twenty-second 
day," was her reply, "and as it was a day too late, I decided to run 
the machine half a degree higher than the directions order, and I 
suppose I got it too hot." 

"Did you have any crippled chickens in the hatch?" 

"Yes, in the last hatch there were a number of nice big chicks 
that could not stand up. Their legs sprawled out and I had to kill 
them." 



TESTING EGGS FOR INCUBATION 63 

The Incubator 

Cripples usually come from overheating the incubator, or from 
irregularity of heat. Poor or insufficient ventilation will also cause 
cripples. 

Now, what was the reason for these failures and what can others 
learn from them? After a careful examination of the incubator, 
which was a good one of the most approved make, I decided first 
that the incubator did not stand perfectly level ; secondly, that the 
thermometer was at fault. When the incubator is in the least de- 
gree out of level, the heat will go to the highest side, leaving the 
lowest possibly a degree or more too cold. The first thing to be 
learned from this lady's failure is never to start the incubator with- 
out being absolutely certain that it is perfectly level. The only 
way to do this is to use a carpenter's spirit level. Put it on top of 
the machine at each side and then crosswise, and be sure that the 
bubble of air is at the proper spot. You may think that because it 
stood level last year it is most likely to be all right this year. That 
is leaving it to chance. One of the legs may have shrunk ever so 
little from the dry weather or swollen from the dampness of the 
room or the floor or ground may have changed ever so little at one 
corner or side without it being perceptible to the eye. It is much 
"better to be sure than sorry," so whether you are an expert or not, 
do not commence this season to hatch without testing your ma- 
chine with a spirit level. Do not trust to luck- — "pre-arrange" and 
success will be yours. 

Test the Thermometer 

Do not start the incubator this season without testing also the 
thermometer. Some friends of mine once bought a new incubator 
of standard make. The thermometer was guaranteed correct ; two 
years seasoned. They had just received from Canada twenty dol- 
lars' worth of very choice eggs, and as they wanted to be sure of a 
good hatch from those prize eggs, they bought this new incubator, 
although they had a good one. Not an egg hatched ! They after- 
wards discovered that the guaranteed thermometer was two de- 
grees wrong. Do not trust to last year's testing. Thermometers 
vary, and it takes at least two years to season them. 

It is not difficult 'to test a thermometer, but to do so you must 
have one perfectly correct and accurate. This you can either bor- 
row from the doctor or from your druggist, or you can take one 
of your thermometers to the druggist and ask him to test it for you. 
Then, having one that is accurate, take a bucket holding about two 
quarts of water, put warm water heated to about 105 degrees into 
the bucket, and put your thermometers into it with the bulbs all at 
the same level. Keep the water well stirred, so the heat will be the 
same all over. Hold the thermometers in it for fifteen minutes, then 
read them and note the difference. If your thermometer is half a 
degree too low, mark on the incubator, "Thermometer half degree 
too low; run incubator half degree lower than directed," or oppo- 
site if the thermometer reads too high. If you buy a new ther- 



64 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

mometer, after testing it, be sure to hang or place it in the correct 
position. The bulb must be on exactly the same level as the former 
thermometer which belonged to the machine. A little difference in 
height or in the position of the bulb of the thermometer may make 
a great difference in the heat on the egg tray. You cannot be too 
careful and particular about these small items. "Pre-arrangement" 
of these means success. 

How to Test the Eggs 
After supper, when it was dark, we put the trays of beautiful 
fresh eggs on the dining room table, put the egg tester on the lamp, 
and then looked at each egg through the tester. Eggs were rejected 
that were chalky to the touch, or those that had light spots in them 
or freckled all over with clear places, or thin on the little end, or 
cracked, or crooked, or in any way misshaped. A few doubtful I 
left in, marking them "d" (these I subsequently heard did not 
hatch). It is much easier to detect the imperfect or unhatchable 
eggs by looking at them with the tester than by merely feeling 
them. It may be a little more trouble at the commencement, but is 
a saving in labor all through the period of incubation and a lessen- 
ing in the expense of oil ; besides giving more room for fertile eggs 
and more chance of a good hatch, as the infertile eggs chill their 
fertile neighbors and draw from their vitality. Therefore, do not 
put eggs into the incubator, or under hens, without carefully select- 
ing them. Poultry keeping is made up of little things, and can so 
easily be ruined by little things that I will add a word of warning. 
Do not hold the egg when testing it so close to the lamp that it 
will heat it. The tiny germ of life in the egg is very tender and 
may easily be killed. For this reason I made a home-made tester 
out of a cracker box. I cut a hole the size of a half a dollar just op- 
posite the place where the flame of the lamp came when I set it 
inside the box. In this way I did not overheat the egg. I also 
found this box very handy for testing eggs under setting hens. 
Eggs, whether under hens or in incubators, should always be tested 
out. There are thousands of eggs lost or wasted every year from 
carelessness in this matter. An egg which is infertile and is for a 
week either in an incubator or under a hen is perfectly good for 
food. It is simply an egg that has been in a warm place for a week. 
There is no germ in it ; there never has been life in it, so there is no 
dead germ to decay. Infertile eggs keep fresh and sweet much 
longer than fertile eggs, and those who are raising only eggs for 
market should keep no male birds in their flock and never have 
fertile eggs. 



NATURAL INCUBATION 



The beginner may find it best to incubate with hens in prefer- 
ence to an incubator. The hen, having laid the egg, is the natural 
mother, has the mother instinct given by the Creator, and is cer- 
tainly the one intended to hatch and brood the chickens. To the be- 
ginner in the chicken business there is less present outlay in a few 
sitting hens than in installing even a small incubating and brood- 
ing plant under artificial methods. The trials of those who find 
sitting hens troublesome are mostly due to their own inability or 
their lack of patience with the hen. Hens must be treated with 
patience and gentleness, for in no way can a hen that has the ''set- 
ting fever," as our grandmothers called it, be coerced against her 
will. 

How to Make Nests 

The nest should be about fourteen inches square. Some breeders 
use boxes twelve by sixteen inches, but I prefer the square nests. 
If the nest is to be on an earth floor, rake the floor, then scoop a 
place about thirteen inches across in the form of a saucer ; firm the 
shape well with the hand, and when it is smooth and firm, take ha} 7 
or short straw, or tobacco stems, and firm that again in the proper 
shape, and the nest is made. Should it be necessary to have the 
nest in a box or on a board floor, take a clean box, have the front of 
the box just high enough to retain the nesting material ; the backs 
and sides may be higher; put several inches of fresh earth into the 
box, firm it with the hand into a saucer-shaped hollow, and be sure 
to pack the earth high into the corners, so there will be no possibil- 
ity of the eggs rolling into a corner and being chilled or lost. The 
nests should be flat at the bottom, shaped like a saucer and not 
like a bowl If too deep, the eggs will roll together, sometimes pile 
up and get cracked or broken. 

When only a few hens are to be set, the nests can be placed in 
any convenient location where the hens may be quiet, comfortable, 
away from other fowls and in the shade. I have found trap nests 
with two compartments very satisfactory, placed under a tree. I 
also have made sets of nests, giving each hen a nest and a small 
run, with a dish of water, a hopper with grit, corn and wheat always 
before her, shut off from all intruders. If hens are to be set in large 
numbers, a separate hennery in which from six to twenty hens can 
be set on the same day is the most convenient. The nests in this 
house or room should be placed with their backs to the wall and 
should face towards the center. Grit, corn, water and a dust bath 
for them to bathe in must be before them at all times. After a few 
days, if this hennery has a separate yard from the other fowls, the 
door of the house may be left open so the hens can go out of doors 
and take a dust bath in the open air, but the food, water and grit 
must be in the house in sight of all the hens. 



66 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

Setting the Hen 

The old-fashioned recipe was, "Set a hen between sunset and 
sunrise for luck." In other words, set a hen in the dark. Hens are 
quieter and not so easily frightened after dark. Choose quiet, gen- 
tle, tame hens ; they make the best mothers. Handle them very 
gently. Put all the hens on the eggs in the same room the same 
evening, so they may all hatch out the same time. This is in order 
to keep the hens quiet during the hatch, as some whose eggs were 
not hatching the same day might become so excited they would 
leave their own nests and try to get to the newly hatched chicks 
when they heard the first peep. 

Dummy eggs should be placed under the hens, when a number 
of hens are set in the same room, for a few days, a few under each 
hen. The first night after dark set all the hens on dummy eggs. If 
some light is necessary, turn the dark side of the lantern toward 
the hen. Have as dim a light as possible; move the hens gently, 
They will soon settle down on the eggs. In the morning look in and 
if any hen appears refractory, put her on the nest again and cover 
her with a box. Look in frequently for the first few days to see how 
they are doing, and you will rarely find more than two hens off and 
eating at the same time, as they are afraid of leaving their nests 
when others are off. Let the hens sit for two or three days, then 
put the good eggs gently in at night. The way to do this is to re- 
move the hen gently, setting her on the floor ; take out the dummy 
eggs and put the real eggs into the nest and gently replace the hen. 
Do not talk, act quickly, silently and swiftly, in a very dim light. 

From thirteen to fifteen eggs are all that should be placed under 
a hen. It is all she can warm properly, all she can turn and attend 
to without the risk of breaking or cracking some. You will hatch 
more and stronger chicks by not placing too many under a hen. 

Keeping Records 

Above each nest, hanging on a nail, I place a card. On this card, 
legibly written is: (1) the date when set; (2) when due; (3) the 
hen's name or number; (4) name or parents' number on eggs; (5) 
number of eggs ; (6) date of first test, number infertile or dead ; (7) 
date of second test and remarks; (8) hatch, number taken from 
nest, number not hatching or killed ; (9) toe marks of chicks. These 
cards can be preserved or copied into the diary of the ranch. They 
form a complete data of each hatch and a history of the hens as well 
as the chicks. 

Testing the Eggs 

Watch the hens rather closely for the first week, and note any 
that may be restless, nervous, cross to the others or stupid in not 
finding their way back to their own nests. These, when you test 
the eggs, you may be able to cull out and turn them back into the 
laying pen. It is always best to keep hens of pleasant disposition 
for mothers. 

The eggs should be tested about the seventh day. An expert can 
test them earlier, and white eggs or duck eggs show the germ as 



NATURAL INCUBATION 67 

early as the fourth or fifth day. The removal of the infertile eggs 
gives those that are left a better chance of hatching. The infertile 
eggs or dead germs are colder than the living eggs and chill the lat- 
ter; besides, the infertile egg has a market value and can be used in 
the kitchen or fed to the chicks. It is a waste to throw them away. 
Testing should not be neglected. There is no use in hens sitting 
on eggs that will not hatch. They had better be reset on fresh eggs 
or returned to the laying pen. 

Egg testers can be bought at the poultry supply houses, but a 
home-made egg tester I have used for years is only a box with the 
back knocked out and a hole in the top for ventilation. I put the 
lantern into it. Just opposite to the flame a hole about two inches 
square is cut in the box and a piece of a rubber boot-leg tacked on. 
I drew a pencil line around a fifty-cent piece and cut that out with 
a pen knife, leaving the round hole for the light to shine through. 

The testing must be done in the dark. Set the egg tester with 
the lantern inside it on a box near the nest. Take the hen quietly 
off the nest, being careful to put your hands under her wings to 
make sure that you do not lift an egg or two with her. Place the 
hen very gently on the floor at one side. Do this so gently that the 
hen will not realize that she is off the nest. Take all the eggs from 
the nest, placing them either on the floor or in a basket; examine 
each egg and replace each fertile egg in the nest as you examine it ; 
mark on the record card the number of infertile eggs, and gently 
replace the hen on the nest. Should any hen awake and appear 
nervous, she can be put upon the nest and the eggs slipped one at 
a time under her as they are tested, but the former plan is prefer- 
able, being more quickly done, with less disturbance to the hen. 

The light shining through the egg, when held against the hole 
in the tester, shows the condition of the egg. Infertile eggs are 
clear. Fertile eggs have a shadow in them by the seventh day. 
The germ appears in some like a dark, irregular floating spot. 
Doubtful eggs should be marked with a D and given the. benefit 
of the doubt, replacing them in the nest. 

After taking out the infertile eggs, if there are many of them, 
you can reset the hens that have none or turn them back into the 
laying pen, culling out the fractious or nervous hens. By doing this 
carefully at each test, you will probably have good mothers when 
hatching time comes. Restless sitters usually make indifferent 
mothers. Close observation is necessary for success in all lines of 
poultry culture, and especially with setting hens. 

The second test should be made in the same way on the four- 
teenth day. The eggs containing dead germs should be buried. 

Dusting the Hen 

A hen should be well dusted with insecticide the day she is set. 
To dust a hen the powder should be in a tin box with a perforated 
cover. An effective home-made peppering box can be made from a 
baking powder can with holes in the lid. Hold the hen by the legs, 
lay her on her side on a newspaper, raise the wing and sprinkle un- 



68 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

der it, then rub the powder well into the skin, especially around the 
vent. Work it into the soft feathers also around the neck. When 
one side is thoroughly powdered, turn the hen over and do the,- other 
side. The powder that is spilled on the paper can be returned to 
the can. 

While the hens are on the nests they should be dusted on the 
seventh and fourteenth day and two days before the hatch comes 
off, with buhach or with any good insecticide. I prefer those prin- 
cipally made with tobacco dust. 

When Hatching 

In the climate of California I have never found it necessary to 
moisten hens' eggs. In fact, the eggs that contain dead chicks 
show that they have not dried out enough. They did not require 
more moisture. There is a natural perspiration which comes from 
the hen, and this keeps the eggs moist enough. 

Should the eggs be chilled by the hen deserting the nest, do not 
throw them away. Put them under another hen as quickly as pos- 
sible. I have known of eggs being left for a whole day and yet 
hatching. Eggs under hens will stand much more cooling than in 
an incubator. Chilling seems to be less injurious during the sec- 
ond week of incubation than at any other time. 

On the nineteenth day, two days before the hatch, I take out to 
the nest a bucket of warm water, temperature 103 degrees ; remov- 
ing the hen from the nest, I put the eggs into the water- Those 
with a live chick in them immediately begin to bob or move as they 
float on the water, and I return them to the nest ; those that sink to 
the bottom or remain perfectly quiet have dead chicks in them and 
will not hatch, and I mark them with a pencil ; then replace the hen 
upon the damp eggs, feeling sure I will have a good hatch. 

It is best to watch the hens pretty closely when the chicks are 
hatching. Some hens get excited and nervous when they hear the 
chicks peeping, and in their restlessness crush the shell so that the 
chicks cannot turn themselves and they die in the shell. These 
nervous hens should, if possible, be removed and quieter hens 
put on. 

When chicks are hatching rapidly and the hens are nervous, it is 
best to remove the chicks as they dry off, taking them to the kitchen 
in a basket lined and covered with flannel. But if the hens are 
quiet it is best to leave the chicks with the mothers, only visiting 
the nests about twice during the hatch to take out the empty shells, 
lest they should slip over the yet unhatched eggs and so smother 
the chick. All eggs should be hatched by the end of the twenty- 
first day. 

Marking Chicks 

The offspring of the best, or pedigreed, stock can be marked so 
as to know them through life, by having a small hole punched in 
one or more of the webs of the feet. This should be done as the 
chicks are removed from the nests. A marker or punch is sold at 
poultry supply houses for marking chicks. They should be marked 



NATURAL INCUBATION 



69 



the day they are hatched, as the web is then soft, does not bleed 
as much as later, and there is not as much risk of the other chicks 
pecking the toes as they would do when older. 

If the hens have been well cared for, properly dusted with a 
good insecticide during the three weeks of incubation, they will be 
perfectly free of lice. They and the chicks must be kept free. 
There is not the difficulty in this that many imagine. Dusting the 
chickens and hens once a week is all that is necessary. Some 
breeders put a little lard on the top of their heads and on their 
throats. This protects from the head lice- Others take a small 
brush (if the chicks are affected with head lice), and wash the little 
heads once a week with a lather of carbolic soap. They soon dry 
off in the sun or under the hen. 

From experiments made in several stations it has been con- 
clusively proved that hen-hatched chickens are stronger and heavier 
than those artificially hatched. At the Oregon Station the incu- 
bators hatched 78.5 per cent of "fertile" eggs and the hens hatched 
96.5 per cent. The incubators showed 16.6 per cent of chicks "dead 
in the shell" and the hens 2.5 per cent. Chicks hatched under hens 
weighed heavier than chicks hatched in incubators, and hen-hatched 
chicks made greater gain in weight than incubator chicks, whether 
brooded by hens or brooders. 




Blue Ribbon White Leghorn Hen. 



ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 



We are living in wonderful times, in the age of great inventions, 
and to succeed in any business, we must keep abreast if not ahead 
of our times. Not the least wonderful accomplishment of this 
wonder-working epoch has been the growth and advancement of 
the poultry industry, and the invention of the modern incubator, 
which made the development of the poultry business in this coun- 
try possible. 

In Egypt and China artificial incubation has been known and 
practiced for many centuries. In this country it is scarcely out of 
its infancy, still it would be impossible to estimate the value of the 
incubator to the poultry industry. It has made possible and profit- 
able the large poultry plants in this country. It has developed the 
broiler business ; it has raised the hen to the position of the money 
maker. One incubator will do the work of ten to thirty hens- 
Must Approach Nature 

There have been many kinds of incubators invented, made and 
patented in the last twenty years. The difficulty is to choose which 
kind will do the work of hatching eggs best ; that is, will bring out 
strong chicks with the least attention and the least expense. There 
are hot water machines and hot air machines ; round incubators and 
square incubators. I have heard of incubators in this state which 
are made like hot beds, heated with stable manure. Some incuba- 
tors are heated with gas, some with electricity, but most of them 
by the heat of a lamp which burns coal oil. The best incubator is 
the one that comes nearest to imitating the natural process of in- 
cubation by a hen, for undoubtedly Nature is our great teacher 
in this matter. 

The two favorite makes of incubators on the market now are the 
hot-water incubators and the incubators which bring warmed air 
into the egg chamber. The latter are called hot-air incubators. The 
difference between them is that the hot-water machines heat the 
egg chambers by radiation, while the hot-air machine brings warm 
air into the incubator. 

In the machines where the heat is radiated from the metal sur- 
face of pipes or tanks, the temperature at the under side of the eggs, 
away from the heat, is several degrees cooler than at the upper 
side of the eggs. Top heat by radiation is supposed to resemble 
the heat from the body of the hen. 

In the hot-air incubators the egg chamber is heated by air that 
is warmed outside of the egg chamber to a proper heat and is then 
forced into the machines by suction or circulation and diffused into 
the egg chamber. This way gives a constant supply of warmed 
fresh air, as pure and fresh as the atmosphere outside of the in- 
cubator. These hot-air machines rarely require any moisture to be 
added, as there is usually sufficient moisture held in suspension in 
the atmosphere, which is being constantly introduced into the egg 
chamber. 



ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 



71 



It pays to get the best, and by inquiring at the large poultry 
plants in the neighborhood, information can easily be obtained 
as to the most popular machine in use in that locality. 

It is wiser to buy a machine than to attempt to make one. Good 
incubators are now sold at so low a price that it does not pay to 
risk the loss of eggs in experimenting on a home-made machine- 




Eggs Ready for Hatching in Robertson's Hatchery, 
side County, at Arlington. 



The Largest in River- 



Location of Incubator 

The incubator should be located in a well-ventilated room or 
cellar that is dry and not subject to great variations of temperature. 

Preparing to Hatch 

The first thing to do is to set the machine perfectly level, using 
a spirit level to make sure of this, for if the machine is not level 
the heat will go to the higher side, the temperature will be uneven 
and although it may be correct where the thermometer hangs, in 
the middle, the upper side will be too hot and the lower too cold. 
It is most important to have the incubator stand perfectly level. 

Let the incubator run for thirty-six hours before putting in the 
eggs. This is to make sure that the machine is thoroughly warmed 
and that it is running steadily at the proper heat. It may take 
twelve hours before the eggs gradually warm through, and the 
thermometer again shows the desired temperature. During this 
time the regulator must not be altered. Touching the screw mav 



72 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

prove fatal to the whole hatch. So wait patiently until the desired 
heat is again present. 

Selecting the Eggs 

Eggs for hatching should always be carefully selected. The 
fresher they are the better. Eggs hatch after being kept a month, 
but the little germ or seed of life gradually grows weaker and 
weaker, and at last has not the strength to develop into a fine, 
healthy chick, and may die in the shell, if the egg is kept too long. 
Ten days or two weeks is better than any older. 

The eggs should come from vigorous, healthy and well-fed 
stock. Much depends upon the feeding of the breeders, especially 
the male bird. They should have plenty of vegetables and green 
food, as well as animal food and those grains which contain the 
bone and muscle-forming elements. Eggs with imperfect shells 
should be rejected; also those with rough or chalky shells, and with 
thin spots- The eggs should be of medium size, neither too large 
nor too small, as the large eggs may have double yolks, which 
rarely hatch. Small eggs denote inferiority and are either pullet 
eggs or eggs from fat hens, or hens exhausted from having laid a 
long time. 

Eggs of One Class 

The eggs should be of one breed or class. It takes twenty-one 
days to hatch all hen eggs, but if the eggs from Leghorns are 
placed in the same tray as the Brahmas, the Leghorns will be the 
first hatched, sometimes as much as two days sooner, to the great 
detriment and loss of the others, which are slower in hatching. 
This is probably caused by the change in the atmosphere and tem- 
perature in the incubator at the time of hatching. The air is heavily 
charged with moisture, and the temperature always rises during a 
hatch from the activity of the chicks, and it is exceedingly difficult 
to regulate the temperature when the incubator is full of chicks 
in all stages of hatching. The rise of temperature does not hurt 
the chicks that are just breaking out of the shell, but if it takes 
place two days too soon, it will ruin the hatch of the heavier and 
slower breeds. Experiments that I have made along these lines 
have always given the same results. 

Turning the Eggs 

The eggs must be left for forty-eight hours after being placed in 
the incubator before being turned. After that they should be 
turned twice a day, or oftener. In this we should imitate the hen, 
for she not only turns her eggs constantly, but always shifts their 
position, pushing those that are on the outside into the center ot 
the nest. It is really more important that the eggs be moved or 
shifted from their position or location in the tray, than merely 
turned, as it shifts the location of the eggs in regard to weak 
germs or infertile eggs. 

If the eggs are not turned during the early stages of incubation, 
many of the germs will dry fast to the shell and die, and the egg 



ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 73 

will be lost. When the egg is not turned during the latter part of 
incubation, the embryo does not develop properly, has little chance 
of hatching or may prove a cripple. 

The turning and moving of the eggs gives exercise to the em- 
bryo; it is a species of gymnastics for strengthening the chick. 
The first forty-eight hours and the last forty-eight hours the eggs 
must not be turned. 

Cooling the Eggs 

Cooling the eggs I consider an important matter in our Ameri- 
can incubators. The first week, following the hen's example, the 
eggs require but little cooling beyond the time it takes to turn 
them. The second week, as soon as the eggs are turned, replace 
them in the machine and leave the door open for five minutes ; after 
this increase the time, a minute or two each day, till at the end the 
eggs are being aired or cooled fifteen or twenty minutes. 

Cooling the eggs helps to make the shell brittle, so that the chick 
at the proper time can break its way out. Cooling the eggs con- 
tracts the shell and heating it up again expands it and this con- 
traction and expansion gives the shell its proper brittleness. As 
the eggs warm up again, an almost imperceptible moisture comes 
over them, which takes the place of the perspiration of the hen, and 
obviates the necessity of sprinkling or dampening the eggs. So in 
our incubators it is necessary to cool the eggs. If this has been 
done properly the chicks will be strong and vigorous and few will 
die in the shell. 

Testing the Eggs 

All sterile eggs and dead germs should be tested out. Egg 
testers are sold with all incubators and very little practice will en- 
able even a beginner to detect the sterile eggs and dead germs. 
Infertile eggs will be of a clear, uniform color throughout, except 
a slight darkening where the yolk lies. In the fertile eggs will be 
seen a small dark spot, and in a white egg the blood vessels can be 
seen branching out from it. Eggs should be tested about the sev- 
enth day. A second test for removing the dead germs should be 
made on the fifteenth day, they being easily detected at that time. 
The chicks in fertile eggs will be seen to fill the shell nearly, except 
a small space at the small end, and the air space at the large end. 
All eggs containing dead germs should be removed from the ma- 
chine and buried. On the eighteenth day the chicks fill the entire 
shell except the air cell, and the egg will be quite opaque, as if 
nearly full of ink. To become accurate in egg testing requires 
practice and a brilliant light. 

Operating the Incubator 

Follow exactly the directions given with whatever incubator 
you may purchase. The makers of the incubators are anxious for 
you to succeed and have good hatches; it is to their interest for 
you to be successful. They have spent time and money in per- 
fecting and understand how to manage their own machines better 
than anyone else. 



74 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

On the morning of the nineteenth day the eggs should be turned 
for the last time. The machine should then be closed and kept 
closed until the hatch is over. Opening the door during the process 
of hatching may spoil or seriously injure the hatch, as by such 
action a large amount of heat and moisture escapes and cold air is 
admitted. This dries up the lining skin of the eggs that are pipped 
and checks or prevents their hatching. It also chills the half- 
hatched or newly hatched chicks and is detrimental to all of them. 
When the chicks are coming out lively, the temperature will rise : 
should it go above 105 degrees, the lamp may be turned down a 
little. 

Leave the chicks in the machine without opening it until they 
are thoroughly dry. The chicks should not be moved from the in- 
cubator until the twenty-second day and should not be fed until 
thirty-six hours after hatching. 

General Remarks 

Should the hatch not come off until after the twenty-first day, it 
shows that the heat has been insufficient; if it comes off earlier, the 
heat during part of the time has been too high. Too low a tem- 
perature will give a weak hatch, many chickens will die in the shell, 
and those that are hatched will be weakly and never amount to 
anything. Too high temperature at the commencement of incu- 
bation will cook and kill the germ. One hundred and six degrees 
is danger point up to the tenth day. Germs which died between 
the first and second testing are frequently the result of overheating. 
Too high a temperature during the last week will so weaken the 
bowels of the chicks that they will be unable to assimilate the yolk 
of the egg. The yolk of the egg is Nature's perfect nourishment, 
which feeds and nourishes the embryo. 

During the last day of the chick's life in the shell the part of the 
yolk which has not been absorbed is drawn up into the chick. This 
forms its food and nourishment for about three days- But should 
the egg be overheated, this yolk hardens and even if drawn into 
the chick, it becomes tough, the chicken's bowels are weakened by 
the overheating, the yolk remains unassimilated, like a piece of 
rubber, blood poisoning ensues and the chick dies some time be- 
tween the first and tenth day of its life. Chilling the eggs has 
almost the same effect; it weakens the bowels, hardens the yolk 
and eventually kills the chick. 

The incubator is a splendid hatcher of all kinds of germs, and 
white diarrhoea may be caught in the incubator. Infection may be 
conveyed through the shell of an egg or even exist in it before it is 
laid, thus carrying to the embryo chick the germs that lead to its 
early death. To prevent this some of the latest investigators thor- 
oughly disinfect the eggs and the incubator before the hatching is 
begun. To accomplish this the eggs are wiped with a cloth damp- 
ened with alcohol, and the incubator is washed with a solution of 
some antiseptic, such as creolin, in every part of the inside, and the 
egg trays washed and then set in the sun to dry and air. 



CARE OF BROODER CHICKS 



The hatching of chicks is but half the battle, for eggs from good, 
vigorous parents will hatch with but little trouble if a good stan- 
dard incubator is used and if the directions with it are followed. 
How about the raising of the chicks after they are hatched? 

The poultry papers agree that there is not a subject pertaining 
to poultry culture that needs more thorough, painstaking investi- 
gation and discussion than the care of the chicks, and it is said 
that not more than fifty per cent of the chicks that are hatched the 
country over reach maturity or a marketable age. 

What are the principal causes of mortality among chicks; how 
can we combat them and what are the essentials in the successful 
raisins: of chicks? 




Brooder Houses, 14x20, Davison Ranch, Arlington. Each House Built to 
Contain 1500 Chicks. With Automatic Heater. 

There are numberless causes for the death we deplore — among 
these are diarrhoea, bowel trouble, lice, improper feeding, impure 
water, overheating or chilling and exposure to the elements. 

Feeling sure that the mortality in chicks is caused in a majority 
of cases by the carelessness or ignorance of the caretaker, let us 
discuss this subject and glean from the best authorities some ideas 
about it as far as we may in one short article. 

Expert Opinion 

Prof. James E. Rice, of Cornell University, has for several years 
been making a careful study of the cause and cure — or prevention 
— of the numerous diseases that cause the death of hundreds of 
thousands of chicks yearly, and his investigations have led him to 
believe that one great cause of mortality is the failure on the part 
of the digestive organs of the chicks to properly digest the yolk of 
the egg remaining in their bodies at the time of hatching. 



76 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

Mr. Rice says : "If we can solve this one problem — the cause of 
the anaemic condition of chicks that follows this failure to absorb 
the yolk of the egg — more money will be saved in one year to the 
farmers and poultry raisers of New York state than it costs to run 
the State Agricultural College for ten years." 

Mr. Rice says he is confident that environment has little, if any- 
thing, to do with the disease, as has been generally supposed. 
When he first began his investigations, this theory was worked 
upon and followed up, but as the investigation progressed it was 
found that the same conditions existed under almost any and all 
circumstances — in dry places, in damp places, in light brooding 
houses and in dark brooding houses ; in fact, he found no conditions 
under which this trouble did not exist. Mr. Rice is confident, how- 
ever, that the investigations being conducted will ultimately solve 
the problem. 

Until this problem is solved we shall have to be content with the 
theories of the different breeders and hatchers, and as one I feel 
confident from my own experiments and experiences that the deaths 
from diarrhoea, or in fact almost all the deaths of brooder chicks 
before three weeks of age, come from faulty incubation. The tem- 
perature has been either too hot or too cold, usually the former, or 
the ventilation has been at fault, or the chicks have been chilled in 
carrying them to the brooder, or fed too soon, before the digestive 
organs were ready to digest the food. 

Elbow Room Needed 

Mr. Hunter, the veteran poultry man, says : "With incubator 
chicks raised in brooders, elbow room seems to be a most important 
factor, and want of elbow room is one cause for the great mortality 
in brooder chicks." 

It is quite natural to suppose that a brooder which is three feet 
square is abundant room for seventy-five or a hundred chicks, and 
indeed it is for the chicks as they come out of the incubator, and 
if we do not want them to grow it might be all right to crowd them 
into the brooder, but these chicks will be almost twice as large at 
three weeks old as when they are hatched and will require twice 
as much room or will suffer for it. 

Fifty chickens are as many as should be put into any brooder. 
To increase the number beyond that point will induce crowding, 
which kills some and stunts others, and will prevent the quick, 
healthy growth that is necessary for all young animals. Ample 
brooder room is the first and chief requisite for the health and com- 
fort of the chicks. The next requisite is oxygen- In other words, 
plenty of fresh, warm air, but no drafts in the brooder. Here is 
one of the great faults with many brooders, as for example the hot 
water pipe brooders in use in many brooder houses. Those hot 
water pipes merely heat the air that is already within the hovers, 
which air is practically confined to the hovers by the felt curtain 
in front, provided to keep in. the heat. It does that, but it also en- 
closes the air, which the chicks have to breathe over and over as-ain. 



CARE OF BROODER CHICKS 77 

This defect in my brooders cost me the lives of many chicks before 
I discovered the cause. A current of warmed fresh air supplied 
under the hovers overcame this difficulty, when I submitted the 
hot-air plan. 

Comfort Essential 

The brooder should be heated for at least twelve hours before 
the chicks are put into it. I always keep a thermometer in the 
brooder and have it at 95 degrees when they are first removed from 
the incubator. They should be carried to the brooder in a basket 
lined and covered with flannel, great care being taken that they be 
not chilled on the way. I am sure that many chicks lose their lives 
by being chilled on this their first journey. The abrupt change 
from the warm incubator to the outside air, which is thirty or forty 
degrees colder, is sufficient to chill the chick. 




Night Scene in 14x20 Brooder House, Containing 1300 Chicks, Davison 

Ranch, Riverside. 

A chill will harden the yolk of the egg, which is drawn up into 
the chick the last day of its stay in the egg shell. You know that 
the yolk of the egg forms the nourishment for the chick inside the 
shell. The last day of its life in the shell all that remains of the 
yolk, about one-fourth of it, is drawn up into the chicken through 
the navel. If the chick is vigorous the yolk should be assimilated 
or digested in about three days. But if the chick is chilled or over- 
heated, it so weakens the bowels that they cannot digest the yolk 
or absorb it, and the yolk hardens or toughens, becomes almost 
like rubber; then it can never be assimilated, blood poisoning en- 
sues and the chick's life ends. 

Chicks should not be fed for from thirty-six to forty-eight hours 
after they come out of the shell, because, first, they do not require 
any food, as the yolk inside them takes nearly three days to become 
absorbed or digested; and, secondly, if they are fed too soon (that 



78 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

is, before the yolk is digested), the effort of digesting the new 
food draws the nervous energy or gastric juices away from the part 
containing the yolk, up to the crop and gizzard, and the yolk either 
does not digest at all or digests so slowly that it brings on bowel 
trouble, which at such an early age stunts the growth, if it does 
not kill the chick. In a chick that is fed too early in life the yolk 
will take, or may take, ten days to digest. You ask how I know 
this. "By sad experience and post mortem examinations," is my 
reply. 

The brooder being warmed to a temperature of 95 degrees under 
the hover, the floor should be covered with coarse, sharp sand, the 
chicks carried carefully to the brooder, after remaining thirty-six 
to forty-eight hours in the incubator. 

Feed Carefully 

The first few hours in the brooder they require no food but the 
sand to eat and water to drink. The sand supplies the little giz- 
zards with the necessary teeth or little grindstones, so that they are 
ready to commence work when the food comes. Water I place in a 
drinking fountain, so they cannot get into it and wet themselves. 
I give them water from the first. I know some people do not, but 
it has succeeded well with my chicks. At about four o'clock they 
have the first meal. I scatter rolled breakfast oats on the sand. 
The white flakes quickly attract their attention and they pick them 
up. I also give them a fountain of fresh water and one of sweet 
skimmed milk. It is surprising to see how quickly they learn to 
eat and drink. In the evening I look in upon them and am pleased 
when I see them spread over the hover floor, as it indicates that 
they are comfortably' warm and will not crowd or huddle during 
the night. The first thing in the morning I give them some more 
rolled oats and some "chick feed." The "chick feed" I buy at the 
poultry supply stores. It is composed of a variety of seeds or 
grains, with a little charcoal, dried blood, or beef scraps and grit. 
Sometimes I make my own chick feed by mixing cracked wheat, 
kaffir corn, millet, steel cut oats, pearl barley and rolled oats to- 
gether, adding charcoal and dried beef scraps- I put more wheat 
and more oats into this mixture than any of the other grains. The 
chick feed that I buy has in addition some other seeds, such as 
rape or mustard, canary seed, hemp, etc. I buy chick feed to save 
myself the trouble of mixing. Chick feed and rolled oats is their 
main feed until they are six or eight weeks of age. I feed them five 
times a day at first, and I always leave a little feed trough or hop- 
per of chick feed where they can get it. I know this is contrary to 
the advice of many, but I found the weaker ones did not get the 
proper amount when all rushed for the food, and also it was a great 
comfort to me, if anything detained me beyond the usual feeding 
time, to know they had food before them. Also when fed at the 
usual hour they were not so ravenously hungry ; they would not 
overload their little stomachs. 



CARE OF BROODER CHICKS 79 

Their morning- meal at about six in the morning, consists of 
rolled or flake breakfast oats, next green feed, then chick feed, then 
rolled oats, green feed and the last feed after they are a few 
days old is hard boiled eggs (two for every fifty chicks), chopped 
fine, shell and all, mixed with dry bread crumbs or cracker crumbs, 
and an onion chopped very fine. I mix all together, adding a little 
pepper and salt. If I have no bread crumbs, I add Johnny cake 
or rolled oats to the onion and egg. I always send them to bed 
with their little crops full. 

As They Grow Older 

I keep a thermometer under the hover in the brooder and lower 
the temperature one degree a day until it is down to sixty-five de- 
grees. After the chicks are six weeks old, unless the weather is 
unusually cold, they require no heat. For green feed they seem 
to prefer lettuce to anything else. Finely cut clover or alfalfa is 
excellent. The lettuce I cut up very fine at first, but in a few days 
they learn to tear it up, and lettuce suspended on a string or even 
thrown on the ground, gives them exercise and amusement as well 
as food. 

In the playroom, where the chicks are fed, the floor is covered 
with chaff. If I cannot get from the mill real chaff I cut up hay in 
the clover cutter, either wheat hay or alfalfa hay, to give them 
something to scratch in, and I throw a handful of chick feed into it 
for them to have something to reward their efforts. 

The alfalfa hay or chaff keeps them busy and exercising and this 
broadens their backs and increases the size and vigor of the egg 
making organs which are already commencing to grow and which 
we must develop from the very first if we want to increase the egg 
output The chaff, or preferably the alfalfa hay chopped short, also 
conceals their little feet from their active and sometimes mischiev- 
ous brothers and stops them from pecking the feet and drawing 
blood, which tastes so good that they will actually turn cannibal 
and tear out and eat the bowels, sometimes causing great loss. 
This is always prevented by keeping the chicks busy scratching 
in deep chaff. 

They have fresh water each time they are fed. The first meal 
is at about six in the morning, and if I fear that I may be later 
than that, I put fresh feed and water in their playroom over night, 
so that the hungry babies may not be kept waiting. They come 
out at daybreak, eat a little, and sometimes drink, and then go back 
and take another nap. 

The brooders must be cleaned twice a week the first week, three 
time a week afterwards, and every day when the chicks grow 
larger. The chicks should be dusted with insect powder about once 
a week. To do .this I have a tin box (a baking powder can with a 
perforated cover), put insect powder into it and after dark raise 
the hover and sprinkle the powder liberally over the chicks. This 
will usually keep them free from lice, 



FIRELESS BROODERS HAVE COME TO STAY 



Fireless brooders have come to stay, at least in California. I 
do not mean to say that they would be suitable in a broiler plant, 
for there chicks are raised not to be muscular and sturdy, but tender 
and fat, and for that they require to be kept always warm and fed a 
fattening diet, and the heated brooder is or may be better adapted 
to their needs, but for the sturdy chick, the chick we want to de- 
velop into a first-rate layer, or a large market fowl, or a winner at 
the show, the fireless brooder, properly handled, in this climate is 
excellent. 

Some few months ago I gave a description of a home-made 
fireless brooder which one of our readers made two or three years 
ago. Several made some by that plan and have expressed their 
great satisfaction at the ease with which they now raise their 
chickens. At the same time I mentioned that many of the poultry 
supply houses had excellent fireless brooders for sale. Since that 
time I have met a number of prominent poultry breeders here, who 
had been quite prejudiced against these fireless brooders, just as 
many poultry raisers years ago thoroughly disapproved of incuba- 
tors, and I find those who have tried the brooders without heat 
are loud in praise of them. 

One very successful business man who wins prizes every time 
he exhibits, said to me : "These fireless brooders are great. I have 
not lost more than three per cent of my hatches since I have used 
them." And in talking over the brooders with many others I find 
that one of the great advantages is that there is no fear of fire. 
Where no fire is, there is no danger of either smoke or a confla- 
gration, which is a very great comfort to a busy poultry man or 
woman, and especially at night- 

I have lately seen a brooder made by Mr. Hammons, the man- 
ager of the mammoth broiler plant near Los Angeles. It is easily 
made and has some points of special value. 

The brooder made by Mr. Hammons is his own invention and 
he has no objection to any one copying it. It is a box 20 inches 
square and 6 inches deep, and in each corner has a small block 4 
inches high for the frame of the hover to rest upon. The lower 
frame does not fit tightly in the box ; this is one of the new im- 
provements ; there is a space of about a quarter of an inch on all 
four sides; this is for ventilation. A door four inches square is cut 




Hammon's Fireless Brooder. 



FIRELESS BROODERS HAVE COME TO STAY 81 



and hinged on one side of the box for ingress and egress of the 
chickens. The hover frame is covered with heavy double canton 
flannel, and seven square blankets cut out of good thick felt lie 
on top of the hover. These little blankets must not cover the 
quarter inch crack for ventilation, but should just fit inside the 
frame. This is another special novelty. The first week all of the 
blankets are used and each succeeding week one is removed, until 
at eight weeks of age the chicks have no blankets over them and 
are ready to leave the brooder. 

The brooder 20 inches square and made as I described will ac- 
commodate only 25 chickens. Mr. Hammons' experience has 
taught him that this number is the very best for one flock, as then 
each chick can grow without crowding. 

At first he makes a nest of straw nearly filling the box, leaving 
a nicely rounded out place in the middle for the baby chicks to 
nestle in, and as they grow, less straw is needed, but a little should 
always be used to keep the floor and the chickens' feet clean. The 
blankets should be sunned and aired daily to keep them sweet and 
clean, as one airs one's own bed. 

Mrs. Frank Metcalf, the originator of the celebrated "Buckeyes," 
writes : "I have had fine success with Mr- Hammons' brooder and 
recommend it to others as the best I have ever used. I raised 
forty-seven out of fifty hatched in the last batch of Buckeyes. Fif- 
teen turkeys may be raised in one of these ; I found that eleven did 
very nicely, although more would have been better at first. We 
had little coops 30 inches wide, by six feet long and confined the 
chicks with the box inside of these for the first week; after that 
they had wire runs out of doors." 

This brooder is simply a square box, 20 x 20 inches, 6 inches 
deep, made of ^4-inch dressed tongue-and-grooved wood, with a 
hover laid on it instead of a lid, and with ventilation all round the 
edge of the hover and the sides of the box, giving free air around 
the chicks as it would be around a hen. It is a good imitation of a 
hen. 

Handles can be nailed on the box so it can be carried easily, 
chicks and all. 

The canton flannel cover of the hover should have a little plait 
at each corner, so the flannel will sag down in the middle a little, 
on the backs of the chicks. 

I have found that if too few chicks are in the brooder that they 
cannot at first keep warm enough. Six chicks for instance are too 
few. In that case I put a hot water bottle or bag on the top of the 
hover, under the blankets, for a short time. I also have found that 
the blankets can be cut out of a common woolen blanket, which 
does as well as the felt and costs less. 



'WHITE DIARRHOEA" IN BROODER CHICKS 



This is a disease which rarely attacks chickens hatched and 
raised by hens, and therefore it must be caused either by faulty 
incubators or wrong "mothering." 

We all know that at times quite a number of chicks in a brooder 
will be "stuck up behind," as it is sometimes called ; how they run 
about with their shoulders up, looking wizened and old; how they 
try to huddle near the warmth and finally give up the hopeless 
struggle and die. 

"I think my chicks are taking some disease and dying from an 
epidemic," said a lady, who, though a novice with incubators and 
brooders, was an old and most successful poultry woman with hens. 
These chicks had been overheated in the incubator I discovered 
two days after hatching. 

Another friend, a very clever surgeon, told me one chilly night 
his incubator lamp went out and all the eggs got stone cold. His 
wife could not bear to think of losing all those nice eggs after hav- 
ing watched them for nearly three weeks, so she advised lighting 
up again in hopes of saving some. This they did, and were re- 
warded with fifty nice, lively chicks, but in a few days they com- 
menced to die; they were "stuck up behind," or they shivered and 
seemed quite thirsty, and at last, when only fifteen were left, he 
made some post mortem examinations, and he found the yolk of 
the egg, which is drawn up into the bowel cavity the last day of 
incubation, was still there, only it looked in some like a bit of rub- 
ber, in some like hard-boiled eggs, and again in others it was dark 
and putrid- Instantly he reasoned that it was that yolk that was 
killing the chicks by blood poisoning. 

He had only fifteen left, but he decided to experiment on them, 
so he opened them ; his wife begged him to give them chloroform, 
which I believe he did, and he removed the toughened yolk, sewed 
up the wound, fed them lightly and all of the patients recovered and 
lived to maturity. 

It was a delicate operation, but my friend had the skillful hand 
of a trained surgeon. I never attempted it myself, but have made 
many a sad post mortem on little chicks dying from being "stuck 
up behind," for I make it a rule to hold "post mortems" on all sub- 
jects that die in my yards. 

One time a whole incubator of eggs — 240 — were overheated by a 
meddlesome child playing with the regulator. Two days later 117 
hatched, the others were cooked hard. Every one of the 117 died, 
although some lived to be eleven days old. I did everything I 
could think of to save them (except the surgical operation), but 
lost all. 

I feel sure that either overheating or chilling so weakens the 
bowels that they cannot digest, or, rather, assimilate the egg, and 
that the yolk putrifies and causes blood poisoning; and that either 
overheating in the brooder or chilling before the chicks are a week 
old will have the same result. Also if the chicks are fed too soon 



FIRELESS BROODERS HAVE COME TO STAY 83 

after hatching, the digestive juice or whatever it may be called, 
goes into the crop and gizzard to digest the new food and the yolk 
of egg is left either to digest very slowly or not to digest at all. 
In either case it will give diarrhoea and it may end fatally. 

I am often asked what to do for young chickens that have diar- 
rhoea, and also for those that are "stuck up behind." I know how 
almost hopeless these cases are, as they usually come from, the un- 
assimilated yolk of egg, but I reply that rice boiled in milk, adding 
a tablespoonful of ground cinnamon to every pint of milk is about 
the best remedy for diarrhoea that I have tried, and to pick off 
with the fingers the dried excrement, slightly greasing the vent 
with carbolated vaseline is the only way for "stuck up." If the 
droppings are washed off, it is almost sure to chill the already 
weakened bowels and result fatally. 

Incubators, To Disinfect 

Dr. Woods recommends that incubators be thoroughly scrubbed 
with a solution of one gill of creolin in 8^2 quarts of water each 
time before putting eggs in them, to prevent the chicks from con- 
tracting white diarrhoea and other bowel troubles. The machine 
should be thoroughly dried before putting the eggs in. Every part 
should be scrubbed inside and out, and the egg trays should be 
especially well done- If the eggs are also disinfected there is very 
good reason to believe that the ravages of white diarrhoea will be 
largely diminished. 



"Topeka," Mumford & Emerson's First Prize White Plymouth Rock. 



VIGOR 

I never advise beginners to commence by trying to make a 
new breed, because very few are capable of success, just as there 
are but few artists who can paint a magnificent picture when they 
first begin to paint. To beginners I say, choose the breed and the 
standard that you like best, and keep to that breed. Then go on 
improving your flock. ' The way to do this is first of all, look to 
the vigor of your flock. It is VIGOR, first, last, and always that 
you want "But," says the beginner, "how am I to get vigor, and 
how am I to keep it?" 

First to get vigor, you have to begin with the parents- 
Get your eggs from healthy, vigorous stock, that have been fed 
the ration for vigor. Then hatch them properly, remembering that 
if you have a poor hatch (that is to say, if you find a number of 
chicks dead in the shell, if the hatch has been hurried by too much 
heat or retarded by too low a temperature), that those chicks which 
do manage to get out of the shell will not have vigor of constitu- 
tion, nor size of frame, nor the early development so necessary for 
success. A great deal depends upon the chick being properly 
hatched ; for that reason I advise beginners to commence hatching 
with hens, and when they do have an incubator, get a good standard 
incubator, and set one or two hens at the same time, keep them both 
running evenly together. Biddy will teach beginners a great deal. 
Then when the chicks are hatched, feed for vigor. Consult Nature, 
feed the fluffy little fellows after you have allowed them the neces- 
sary rest of at least thirty-six hours before feeding them. All a 
chick needs is rest and warmth to go on growing for about two 
days or even three ; after that time its digestive organs are ready for 
work ; then they must have the proper kind of food. 

The Crop 

Nature has given the chick a crop where the food is first re- 
ceived. In this crop is found a fluid, something like the saliva in 
human beings ; this saliva acts upon the food, softening it and other- 
wise preparing it for digestion. The food then moves on to the 
proventriculus, or stomach, where it is still acted upon by a fluid, 
and it finally passes to the gizzard. 

The dry chick feed, so universally used, composed of a great 
many fine grains, is admirably adapted to feeding the chick. There 
are some grains especially conducive to vigor ; the chief of these 
is oats, in any form, steel-cut, hulled, or rolled breakfast oats. 
There is another thing which Nature in the spring time gives the 
chicks, plenty of worms, bugs, insects. Often after an April shower 
I have seen the ground covered with worms, but here in California 
there are not enough insects to supply the chickens, therefore the 
chicks must have animal food as well as succulent green food. I 
used to buy two pounds of hamburger steak three times a week, 
and nothing suited the chicks better, fed raw once a day. 



VIGOR 85 

Exercise 

Vigor comes from exercise as well as from the proper food. 
Scratching is by far the best exercise for chicks. It keeps the or- 
gans of digestion in a healthy condition ; it gives the chick a good 
appetite; it broadens the back, giving plenty of room for and de- 
veloping the egg organs, strengthens the muscles and enlarges 
the frame. 

How shall we give them work? The best way, of course, is 
to give the mother hen range. Chicks on range with the mother 
hen rarely acquire bad habits. It is chicks in the brooder that get 
into mischief, that quarrel and scrap, peck each other's toes and get 
to be cannibals. The best way of preventing mischief is by bed- 
ding the brooders, one or two inches deep, with alfalfa hay, cutting 
to half-inch lengths in a clover cutter. The little chicks will. eat 
some of this, and they will scratch in it for seed of the chick feed 
all day long. This chaff, or finely cut hay, hides the toes so they 
will not be tempted to peck each other's toes. Another method for 
exercise is planting the runs with wheat or barley The chicks 
will scratch up or pull up the green sprouts. Hanging a head of 
lettuce up in the brooder house will also afford both amusement 
and exercise. 

Never let chicks be crowded at night. Many a chick that might 
have been a prize winner is disqualified, has off-colored feathers 
simply from having been crowded or bruised by a larger chick 
treading on it. A bruise, even a slight one, will often result in a 
white feather on a colored fowl or a black or red feather on a white 
fowl, and overcrowding has the same effect. 

More About Vigor 

Vigor has always been one of my "hobbies." I have written 
much about it but must add a little more. Breeding for vigor is 
one of the problems most interesting in poultrydom. It might 
not be difficult if we could closely imitate Nature, but we are de- 
manding much more or our hens than Nature does, and here is the 
point where we fail. 

Much of the lack of vigor, the low hatches, weakness and mor- 
tality of chicks, and the inferiority of the mature fowls may be 
traced to the so-called "intensive" methods and of forcing the hens 
to produce an abnormal number of eggs with a consequent break- 
ing down of the constitution of the hens. The intensive system of 
keeping fowls in small quarters and feeding them with stimulating- 
rations has contributed largely to the lowering of constitutional 
vigor in many large flocks of hens. 

There are in nearly all flocks hens that differ in vigor. There 
are weak fowls and strong fowls in all the different breeds and 
what we want to aim for is the strong, vigorous hen that will digest 
the most food and lay the most eggs. Let us study how to get 
these hens. First, cull closely; that is, get rid of, market or eat 
those fowls that do not come up to the mark in vigor. Secondly, 
let us mate together only those that have constitutional vigor. It is 



86 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

often a temptation to breed from a hen that may have won a prize, 
or have beautiful feathers, or is high scoring, but has had roup or 
is defective in vigor, and invariably this results in loss of vigor in 
the offspring. Breeding from pullets or immature stock is another 
source of lack of vigor in the offspring. An immature fowl cannot 
impart great vigor to its offspring and the continued breeding, gen- 
eration after generation, from pullets will result in smaller, weaker 
and shorter lived fowls. I have experimented along these lines 
myself, and I find that two or more years of age and still vigorous 
is the best age for reproducing vigor. 

Forcing for egg production by heavy feeding during fall and 
winter will also impair vigor. 

The most vigorous breeding stock is necessary to maintain the 
vigor of the flock, for "like begets like." The breeding stock should 
be selected for months ahead of the season, housed and fed for 
vigor instead of being forced for heavy egg production for the 
market. 

Keeping the young in limited space, in large numbers, is a cause 
of lack of vigor. The young flock should be culled frequently, the 
sexes separated as soon as distinguishable, and the pullets sorted 
according to size, keeping only for future breeders those that show 
early and rapid growth and development. 

The lack of exercise is a cause of low vitality, and slow growth 
in the crowded pens. On the farm, where the chicks have liberty 
and a good range, they have also exercise, but in our small yards 
it should be provided by giving them a good scratching pen, kept 
well supplied with clean straw or hay, and in this the grain should 
be buried. Too much to eat and too little to do results in a lack 
of vigor in the growing stock, and, worse still, brings infertility 
in the eggs of the breeding stock. 

In mentioning eggs, I believe that carelessness in the handling 
and care of eggs for incubation is not only a great factor in the lack 
of vigor in the chicks, but also is a cause of the poor hatches of 
which we hear so much. Our New Zealand cousins have made a 
series of experiments in this line, and after testing the eggs of 
thirty-nine different breeds, find that eggs keep best for hatching in 
a temperature of from 50 to 60 degrees, that below 40 degrees or 
above 70 degrees the germ becomes weak — dies in a short time. To 
insure sturdy chicks eggs should be fresh, from a week to not over 
two weeks old. 

Brooding and rearing chicks in insanitary, crowded conditions 
results in low vitality, and though it is important for the parent 
stock to be kept in healthy condition, it is equally important that 
the chicks upon whom our future hopes depend be raised naturally 
on the best of rations and on free range. 

The^ invariable rule for attaining vigor in the flock should be 
to eliminate all weak stock whenever we see it. This holds good 
at all ages, from the baby chick to the mature fowl. The chick 
which shows weakness at any time should either be killed immedi- 
ately or be distinctly marked and kept apart from its strong broth- 



VIGOR 87 

ers and eventually if it recovers be marketed. The chick may re- 
cover from its weakness but still retain the inherited tendency and 
transmit it to the offspring, so that the rule should be to always 
eliminate the weak. A satisfactory way of marking that I have 
used is to paint a bar across the back with a few drops of bluing 
or with Diamond dye, which will last until the chicken moults. 

"How can I distinguish the weak from the vigorous fowl ?" asks 
a correspondent. 

The weak chicken is inactive, and dumpy,, is inclined to squat 
down instead or stand, or has leg weakness — does not scratch — is 
the last to get off the roost in the morning and the first to go on 
at night. It may frequently be found on the perch during the day, 
disinclined to do anything, is "born tired." 

A loud and hearty crow is one sign of a vigorous male, also his 
calling up his harem to eat the best and choicest morsels before 
partaking himself (the careful attendant should see that the male 
bird that is so devoted to his wives should have extra food himself, 
or he may fail to transmit his vigor to his offspring). 

The shape of the body of the fowl at all stages of development 
is an indication. A vigorous fowl will be sturdy of frame, with a 
thick, compact body, large fluff, smooth, bright feathers, prominent 
eyes. Whilst a fowl that is lacking in vigor will have a long, thin, 
flat beak and head, a thin neck, slender body, thin thighs and 
shanks, long, thin and sometimes crooked toes, also usually a tired 
look. 




THE ONE-DAY-OLD CHICK TRADE 



The one-day-old chick trade has come to stay. This may be 
said to be a separate and rather new branch of the chicken business, 
but it has passed its experimental stage, and both in this country 
and in England it is becoming popular. It can scarcely be said to 
be a new business, because it has been known and practiced in 
Egypt for thousands of years, in fact, it is the only way known 
there of raising chickens. As soon as one of the large hatcheries 
there hatches out the chickens, notice is sent to the surrounding vil- 
lages, and the twenty or forty thousand little chicks are sold within 
twenty-four hours, or before being fed. 

The one-day-old chick trade is, as its title indicates, the selling 
of baby chicks the day they are hatched. There has been and still 
is wide discussion over this business, which at first met with but 
little encouragement from the breeders of fancy poultry, some 
fanciers averring that it will injure the sale of their fancy eggs, 
while others even threaten to call in the humane society to prevent 
such cruelty as selling chickens at so tender an age. 

Some of our long-headed fanciers, both men and women, finding 
there was a demand for one-day-old chicks, rose to the emergency, 
doubled the price of their eggs in live chicks, and have made a 
great success of the business. I have had letters from Nevada, 
Montana, Arizona, New Mexico and even from Old Mexico and 
Texas, telling of the great success poultry raisers have had in those 
distant places, raising the chicks after their long journey from Los 
Angeles, one man writing that he had raised 88% and another 
90% to maturity. 

L. Yarian of Lima, Ohio, writes : "No branch of the poultry 
business is attracting more attention at present and no branch of 
the poultry business is more worthy than the selling of day-old 
chicks, with hundreds of others in all parts of the United States. 
I believe it is the best branch of the poultry business ever orig- 
inated." 

Day-old chicks or chicks taken direct from the incubator and 
securely packed, can be safely shipped to all parts of the United 
States, except to a very few places, located in some out of the 
way place where the chicks would have to travel for more than 
three days. 

Occasionally a chick may die en route, but don't they die for you 
at home, when they are only a couple days old? Certainly they 
do, and what proof can be advanced that the same chick that dies 
en route would not have died at home? Is it a cruel practice? I 
answer emphatically, No. Then some people will ask, what will the 
chick eat while on the trip? I reply, nothing, because the last thing 
the chick does before it leaves the shell is to absorb the yolk of 
the egg, which is Nature's own food intended to furnish nourish- 
ment for the baby chick until its little digestive system gets in 
good working order and is able to handle the food properly. 



THE ONE-DAY-OLD CHICK TRADE 89 

Poultry men of experience are all agreed that more little chicks 
are killed by too early feeding than by delay in feeding, and all ad- 
vise that the chick be not fed until it is at least two or three days 
old. In fact, some people attribute the diarrhoea of little chicks to 
too early feeding. If you overcrowd the chick's digestive system 
before it is ready to digest, you will have bowel trouble, and you 
know with that you will not have the chicks very long. If it is the 
advice of men of experience, not to feed until at least the chick is 
a couple of days old, then why cannot the bird be traveling during 
that time, comfortably packed in a warm box? That chicks can be 
safely shipped, has been successfully proved through all who have 
ever attempted to do so, unless the chicks have very low vitality. 
Thousands are being shipped all over California and the neighbor- 
ing states, most successfully, where if 'eggs had been expressed in- 
stead of chicks, many would have been broken en route, for they 
would have been handled many times rougher than the baby 
chicks. It would be a very hard-hearted expressman who would 
throw a box of baby chicks across an express car as they some- 
times do when they handle eggs. The selling of day-old chicks 
should be encouraged, especially among amateurs who often get so 
discouraged by having poor hatches that they give up after their 
first attempt. 

I have frequently had persons write to thank me for sending 
the chicks, saying that the chicks arrived in such good condition 
after three days' journey that they were better and stronger than 
those hatched at the same time that had not taken the journey. One 
man in particular, in Mexico, ordered fifty chicks and his success 
was so great that the neighbors around ended by getting two thou- 
sand last season, and this year others in the same neighborhood are 
already sending for them by the thousand. The day-old chick busi- 
ness has come to stay in America as well as in Egypt. 

I want to emphasize the necessity of caring for the chicks 
immediately on arrival. More chicks are lost or injured in the 
last stages of their journey than in all the rest of their trip 
put together. 

Find out what train they are coming on, and meet them 
if possible, or if a telephone is available, have the agent call 
up on arrival. Make friends with the agent, and tell him that 
you are getting chicks in and ask him not to pile the boxes, 
but place them in the shade, but out of the draft. 

A good way to make friends with an agent is to go to him 
for a money order when the chicks are bought, and this gives 
you a fine chance to talk to him. 



SUMMER WORK 



Summer is our time for rest from hatching and now our energies 
must be directed to safely carrying through the summer the brooder 
chicks and helping the older hens to shed their old clothes and 
come out in fine and glossy raiment as expeditiously as possible- 
Let us first look over our youngsters and see how we can keep 
them growing. They need a motherly and watchful eye and ear, 
and a watchful nose also, as much as children do. 

Our own lives are made up of little things, but a little chick's 
life is made up of infinitely little things and it is through little 
things that success is attained or failure courted. "Be sure to keep 
the pullets growing," was the vague order given in one of the poul- 
try books that years ago I was studying. The author did not tell 




Ten Weeks Old Pullets at Roost in Davison Open-front Colony House. 

how to keep them growing nor did he mention what would prevent 
them growing, and I just hated that man, but since then I decided 
that, poor fellow, he most likely did not know himself and was only 
dealing in generalities to write a plausible article for his book or 
paper without definitely saying anything. But he was right; we 
must keep the chickens growing, and at the first indication that 
their growth has stopped we must investigate and find out the 
cause. 

What are the chief causes of chickens not doing well in the sum- 
mer? Lice and mites. If your chickens are not doing well, treat 
them for lice, even if you cannot see them, and give their house a 
good spraying with kerosene emulsion and a little carbolic acid. 

Comfort and proper food are the two great factors that will pro- 
mote the growth of our chicks, and cleanliness is the first require- 
ment. The drinking vessels at this season of the year require spe- 
cial care ; whatever may be used should be kept scrupulously clean. 



THE ONE-DAY-OLD CHICK TRADE 91 

I find a sink brush is an excellent thing for scrubbing out the drink- 
ing vessels. They must be kept in the shade. They can be placed 
in a box set on its side or under a shed or tree, and besides being 
shaded, they should be frequently replenished during the day. 

Sunshine and Shade 

Provide shade for the growing chicks ; shade from the burning 
rays of the sun. Nothing is more conducive to health than sun- 
shine, but it must be tempered by shade. Trees and bushes supply 
the best shade, as the temperature close under growing green 
leaves is several degrees cooler than under anything that is dry or 
dead. Few realize what a necessity shade is to fowls. 

If an epidemic seizes the half-grown chicks, it is attributed to 
any cause on earth but the lack of shade, when, in very many cases, 
this is the sole cause. Vertigo, blindness, stunted growth may all 
be due to the glare of the sun on unsheltered yards. Shade is a 
necessity, and if trees or shrubs are lacking, a good shelter can be 
made by driving a few stakes or small posts into the ground and 
making a frame upon which palm branches or brush can be laid. I 
have found a very serviceable temporary shade can be made by rip- 
ping open a common gunny sack and nailing four laths on the 
edges. This little frame can be laid across the top of a small pen or 
even hung on wire fence and afford a grateful shade. 

Overcrowding or the chicks huddling for even one night may 
stunt the growth or be the means of bringing on an epidemic of 
colds which may result in roup. 

But how to stop them crowding? A mother hen often solves the 
difficulty by taking the half-grown chicks on the perch with her, 
but for brooder chicks some other plan must be found; the best 
way is to divide them into flocks or colonies of only twenty-five in 
each, and supply comfortable perches for them. The chicks will in 
a short time take to the perches of their own accord. 

At one time I had not enough colony coops and a great many 
chicks. I put them a hundred together in my regular henneries, 
but they crowded and I not only was losing every night some of 
the best, but the survivors looked very badly. They sweat off in 
the night all they had gained during the day. I realized that this 
meant failure for me if I could not control it. I spent my evenings 
going around and patiently placing the chicks, hundreds of them, 
on the perches till I was completely tired out, when I decided to 
make it so desperately uncomfortable for them they could not 
crowd. 

I bought a bundle of six-foot lath and made a lath platform or 
' floor, by nailing them one and a half inches apart, the width of a 
lath, on stringers one inch by three. This made a flooring of small 
lath perches three inches above the ground, and made it so un- 
comfortable for the chicks to crowd that it entirely prevented it. 
I placed regular perches four or five inches above the lath floor and 
in a few nights, on making my nightly rounds with my lantern, I 
had the satisfaction of finding all the chicks on the regulation 



92 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

perches. I have recommended the lath platform or floor to many 
and it has proved always successful. 

Teaching Them to Roost 

It is sometimes difficult to persuade the young chickens at this 
time of the year (September), when moved to winter quarters, to 
go into the coop or house, which they should occupy. The little 
perversities insist on returning to the place where their mother 
has raised them, or they will huddle together on the ground, while 
the older ones fly into the low trees. Night after night, they have 
to be carried to their house. I, however, have found that by driving 
them gently with a broom for two or at most three nights, they 
will soon learn what is expected of them. A broom is by far the 
best way of driving chickens without frightening them. 

A broom in each hand is the best way of driving a large herd of 
turkeys, also, by gently waving them on each side. They will be 
afraid of the broom, but never become wild or afraid of the attend- 
ant in this way. It is entirely possible to drive the profits out of a 
flock of hens by stoning and pelting them every time they get into 
mischief. Be quiet in your manner if you wish to be successful 
with hens. Make the fowls feel that, when you are present there 
is a protector among them, not something that is likely to scare 
or harm them. The only way to keep your fowls on good terms 
with you is by keeping them tame and treating them in a common- 
sense manner. 

Protecting Chicks from Older Fowls 

It may sometimes be necessary to allow young and old fowls 
to run together. This creates trouble, as the young chicks require 
more frequent feeding than the older ones. To avoid this trouble, 
make a pen about six feet square and covered with wire netting- 
The pen should be made on a framework so that it can be easily 
moved. Feed for the chicks is scattered in the pen far enough from 
the edge so the older fowls cannot reach it from the outside. Then 
the pen is raised on blocks, just high enough to allow the chicks 
to pass under but will prevent the older fowls from getting inside. 

The Dry Hopper 

In the matter of feeding hens on a farm, I would much prefer 
the dry hopper method, keeping one hopper f.ull of mixed grains 
and one hopper with beef scraps or granulated milk, and letting the 
fowls have free range until it is time to put them in their winter 
quarters. Then, instead of only grain in the hopper, make the mix- 
ture of bran, corn meal and alfalfa meal, or take one of the good 
balanced rations sold at the poultry supply houses for the hopper. 
The reason for this change which should be made gradually, is that 
the fowls being confined, do not get the exercise and consequently 
may get overfat from eating the whole grains, while the finely- 
ground food has to be eaten more slowly. For fowls in confine- 
ment, besides the hopper or finely ground feed, they should have a 
scratch pen in which the grain is thrown every morning for them 
to scratch in. This will give them the exercise which they would 
otherwise miss after being on free range all the summer. 



THE ONE-DAY-OLD CHICK TRADE 



93 



After getting the fowls accustomed to their winter quarters, you 
can, if you wish, let them out for two hours before sundown to 
run on the grass or green winter wheat or alfalfa. This will give 
them a little exercise and change, but it is not absolutely necessary 
unless quite convenient. Of course, they must be supplied with 
green food and a balanced egg ration. 




BROILER RANCHES 



Broiler raising is one of the lucrative branches of the poultry in- 
dustry. It is a business, however, which should not be entered into 
without study or experience. There are some very large broiler 
ranches in the neighborhood of Los Angeles. 

The ration for broilers is usually that given for chicks till they 
are four or five weeks of age, when they are finished off with a 
fattening ration for from two to three weeks. The average cost 
of raising a broiler is from fifteen to eighteen cents, while the sell- 
ing price on contract is from fifty to sixty cents at a pound and a 
half in weight. 

By using the ration given for broilers after the first two weeks, 
some breeders have attained the weight of two pounds for their 
broilers at six weeks of age. This was in small lots of twenty-five 
to fifty broilers in a brooder.* 

* See page 39. 



THE TRAP-NEST 



Trap-nests are one of the inventions of this progressive age. It 
is the surest, quickest method of securing better eggs and more of 
them. A trap-nest is a nest box, the entrance to which closes auto- 
matically when the hen steps into the nest and keeps her in the box 
until the person in charge releases her, thus showing which hen laid 
the egg. 

The progressive farmer or dairyman knows that he must test the 
milk of his cows and he finds when he begins to do so that he has 
cows in his herd that do not pay for their keep. It is the same in 
the poultry business ; in every flock of hens there are idlers that do 
not pay for their feed — they lay so few eggs that their owners are 
out of pocket by keeping them. I would not have believed this had 
I not discovered it to be the case with some of my own hens. The 
first season that I used trap-nests I found a hen which went on the 
nest every day, but only laid four eggs in one month, while another 
in the same yard laid twenty-nine. It was a revelation to me. The 
first year I discovered that nearly one-fourth of my hens barely paid 
for their board. That was not the kind of hens I wanted. I was in 
the business for profit and not loss, so I weeded them out, and very 
good eating they made. 

The second year I got, with a reduced flock, a twenty per cent 
less feed bill and fully twenty-five per cent increase of eggs — more 
eggs at less cost. Surely the trap-nests repaid me for the slight 
extra trouble of attending to them. They were not only of use in 
discovering the best layers, but I became better acquainted per- 
sonally with each hen. I found that the hen which laid the most 
eggs had the most fertile eggs, while the poor layers' eggs were not 
nearly so fertile. 

Trap-nests make the hens tame and tame hens lay more eggs 
than wild hens. Some hens may at first object to being handled, 
but after a few days they become reconciled to it. My White 
Plymouth Rocks were so tame that when I opened the door they 
would step into my hands or sit quietly until I lifted them up to 
ascertain the numbers of their leg-bands. 

In order to make the use of the trap-nests efficient, we must be 
able to know each hen individually, and for this purpose each hen 
must wear a leg-band, a small bracelet, made of copper or aluminum 
with a number on it. 

By means of the trap-nest one can discover any hen that is be- 
coming too fat, or too thin, and she can be moved into another and 
more suitable pen. The trap-nest also renders a great service in 
detecting the egg eater. If there is reason to suspect a certain hen 
of this villainous habit, give her an egg while she is on the nest ; if 
the egg after a time disappears it is pretty good evidence that the 
culprit has been discovered, and decapitation should be the verdict. 

Another advantage in using trap-nests is that it gives one an op- 
portunity to examine the hens for vermin, and by taking a small 
can of insect powder around occasionally while visiting the nests. 



THE TRAP-NEST 



95 



and powdering the hens, they can be kept perfectly clean with very 
little trouble. I use a baking powder can, having perforated the 
lid, making a large pepper pot. A liberal use, not blown on out of 
an air gun, but freely peppered on the hens, is very beneficial. 

I visit the nests about three times during the morning to release 
the hens and gather the eggs. One trap-nest is required for every 
three hens. When a hen is taken from her nest, the egg is marked 
with her leg-band number and the date and credit is given her on 
the record sheet or record book. This is a sheet or page marked 
off in squares of thirty-one days with the hen's name or number at 
the head of the line. I mark B for broody, S for sold, M for mar- 
keted, and so on, and have in this way the history of each hen at a 
glance. 




Maine Exp. Sta. Trap-nest, Improved. 

Trap-nests have taught me which hens lay the best shaped eggs, 
which the largest size, which the strongest fertilized, which are the 
best winter layers, which pullets begin early, the number of eggs 
they lay in succession, the number of times they become broody 
and many other facts that can be learned in no other way ; in fact, 
I find my records exceedingly interesting and profitable reading. 
Trap-nests were a perfect revelation to me and aided me in my suc- 
cess with poultry. 

There are a number of trap-nest plans, also trap-nests, on the 
market, ranging in price from $1 to $25. I have bought and tried 
several, and find that the most satisfactory trap-nest is one that has 
two compartments, one the nest where the hen lays the egg and 
the next where she waits to be released. I find that if there is only 
one compartment the hen often stands upon the egg and is apt 
to break it accidentally when she wants to come off and so learns 
to eat eggs. The two-compartment nest is comfortable for the hen 
and convenient for the attendant. 

The nest box here described is adapted from the first that was 
made at the Maine Experiment Station, is very simple and easily 
made. I use wooden cracker boxes or shoe boxes, and easily made 
two in a morning. The wire was a little difficult to bend, but 
a boy bent it for me. 



96 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



The nest box is very simple, inexpensive, easy to attend and 
certain in its action. It is twenty-eight inches long, 14 inches 
wide and 14 inches deep. A division board, with a circular open- 




Hen Entering Trap-nest. 

ing 7 l /z inches in diameter is placed across the box 13 inches from 
the back end. The back end is the nest proper. The door is a 
light frame covered with wire netting or laths. The door is 10^ 
inches wide and 10 inches high, and does not fill the entire en- 
trance, a space of 2 l / 2 inches being left at the bottom and lyi 
inches at the top, with a good margin at the sides. 

The "trip" or "trigger" consists of a piece of wire about 3-16 
of an inch in diameter and 26^4 inches long, bent as shown in draw- 
ing. To hold the trip wire in position and let it roll sidewise easily, 
nail a cleat to the cover and put two staples for the wire to hang 
in near its bent corners. The long end of the wire hangs in front 
of and close to the center of the 7 l / 2 -\nch. circular opening. When 
the door is set, the half-inch section of wire marked "A" comes 



A 



J 



Trip Wifie- 



Trip Wire. 

under a hardwood peg or a tack with a round head which is driven 
into the lower edge of the door frame. The hen passes into the 
nest through the circular opening and in doing so presses the wire 
to one side and the trip slips from its connection with the door. 



THE TRAP-NEST 



97 



The door promptly drops down, without noise and without fright- 
ening" the hen. The double box, with the nest to the rear end, is 
necessary, as when a bird has laid and desires to leave the nest she 
steps to the front and remains there till released. With one section 
only she might crush the egg by standing upon it. 

One word of caution : It is well to have nests enough, because 
the hens must be coaxed to lay, and when they are ready they must 
not be kept waiting. If a hen is dissatisfied with her nest she may 
hold her egg for twenty-four hours, and in time be taught to lay 
only every two or three days. It is wise to encourage the hens to 
lay, and I have found these trap-nests are much liked by the hens 
whilst others that I bought frightened them and prevented them 
laying, entirely defeating the object of the nest, which is more eggs 
and better hens. 

There is not any patent on this nest; any one is at liberty to 
make and use it, as it is the original trap-nest made by the Maine 
Experimental Station, slightly altered. 




GRIT AND GIZZARD 



One of the most important things necessary for the health of 
poultry is a supply of grit of the right kind. Nature provides a use 
for every organ of the body, and in every body an organ for each 
specific duty. Most animals are provided with teeth to enable them 
to prepare their food for the action of the fluids secreted by the 
stomach, pancreas and liver. It will also be remembered that be- 
sides being crushed in the mouth by the teeth, the food is acted 
on by the saliva. 

Nature has not endowed birds with teeth, but it has provided a 
good substitute in the gizzard. This is a tough, strong, muscular 
organ, so situated in the body that all food taken into the mouth 
must pass through it. Previous to passing through the gizzard, 
all food has been received into a pouch or bag, the crop, where it re- 
mains some time. There it is soaked with and acted upon by a fluid 
secreted in and by this pouch, and a modified process takes place 
similar to that of the saliva in the mouth of animals with teeth. 

The food gradually leaves this pouch (the crop), passes through 
the proventriculus and into the gizzard, where it is ground up, and 
thence it goes to the intestines, where, after being mixed with other 
fluids, it passes on and the nutriment is absorbed. No doubt a 
bird may be made to exist for a time, perhaps a considerable time, 
without grit, just as a person may live for years with bad teeth, 
or perhaps with none at all. We all know how little such people 
enjoy their food or health, and surely if the birds do not have the 
means of masticating their food they can neither be healthy nor 
enjoy their food, and will not give their owners a good return for 
their food and care. 

The Best Grit 

The gizzard is a marvelously strong little mill and when pro- 
vided with the proper grit, or little grindstones, will keep the fowls 
in good condition. Hard, sharp substances are necessary, such as 
flint stones or granite pounded up. Broken china, earthenware, 
glass and all such substances broken up make excellent grit. 

When the grit has not sharp edges, the harder parts of the food 
are not digested, husks and green food accumulate and frequently 
cause a stoppage between the crop and the gizzard, so that nothing 
but liquid can pass. A lack of sharp grit brings on diarrhoea ; also, 
the gall overflows and sometimes the gall-sack bursts. There are 
two passages, one into, and the other out of the gizzard ; they are 
both on one side of it- The one leading out of it is much smaller 
than the one leading into it. Thus the gizzard can receive larger 
substances but cannot get rid of them until they are ground small ; 
and sharp grit is needed for this. 

When I first came to California' I purchased a grist mill and, 
alas, I had broken china also! I had two dozen hens just bought 
and proceeded to grind up some crockery for them. The man who 
was building my fence thought it dreadfully cruel of me, remarking 



GRIT AND GIZZARD 99 

"It's enough to kill a dog; let alone those poor hens." "The hens 
will not eat it unless they need it," was my reply, though I agreed 
with him about the dog. To his surprise those hens ate almost a 
quart of it. None of them died and they soon commenced to lay. 
Give the little chicks the small chick-grit. Eight pounds of this 
will be sufficient for the first two months of the life of fifty little 
chicks and then they should have a larger size. One hundred 
pounds of hen grit, which can be bought at the poultry supply 
houses, is sufficient to last a hundred hens about a year. 

Pigeons consume more grit than hens, proportionately to size. 
Give pigeons grit to keep them healthy. My attention to grit and 
gizzards was aroused many years ago. "Will madame look to 
what I have found in the interior of this fowl?" said my French 
maid to me. She had opened the gizzard of a fat young hen and 
had found thirteen china buttons and two pearl buttons or parts of 
them, mixed with the black adobe mud. Since that day I have tried 
to keep my fowls well supplied with grit. 

Starve for Lack of Grit 

'T cannot think what ails my fowls," said one lady. "They have 
all the food they can eat, but here is another dead." "Have you 
ever opened one to discover the trouble?" I asked. "Yes, but I 
never find anything." "Well, I think your fowls have indigestion," 
I said, "but we will hold a post mortem on this one and try to solve 
the difficulty." We found a medium sized gizzard, full of dark 
earth, no stones, no grit, not even buttons. That told the story, 
the fowls were starving to death in the midst of plenty, just for 
lack of grit to grind their food. 

I occasionally make curious discoveries when I hold a post mor- 
tem, for the contents of a school boy's pockets are scarcely more 
varied than those of a fowl's gizzard, when not supplied with the 
proper kind of grit. My Indian Runner ducks, being great pets and 
never doing any mischief, were allowed the freedom of my place. 
I had noticed them around the out-door fireplace where the caul- 
dron was boiled, old boxes, building scrap and rubbish being used 
for the fire. 

I thought the ducks were picking up bits of charcoal, but one 
morning I found a fine duck dead. The post mortem revealed an 
enormous gizzard, twice the usual size, on opening which I found 
a number of nails, some bits of wire, two two-pointed tacks. Sev- 
eral of the nails were embedded in the gizzard and the largest one 
pierced quite through it. The ducks had always been supplied with 
plenty of river sand, but this particular duck seemed to have de- 
veloped an ostrich's appetite. After that I gave them also the 
smaller chick grit and with most excellent results, for never ducks 
laid as many eggs as did those. Grit, oyster shells, or clam shells, 
and charcoal are indispensable for fowls. 

The Symptoms of Grit Craving 

When your hens seem "mopey" just break up some old china, 
and see if they will not refuse the best food for it. 



100 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

When you see water run from a hen's mouth, when she puts 
her head down, the trouble is indigestion. Give her grit and char- 
coal. 

When your hens do not care for their food, tone up their appe- 
tities by a dose of grit. 

When they are not laying as well as you think they should, 
give them grit. 

When hens moult slowly, it is often from impaired digestion. 
Give them grit and charcoal- 
When you want the hens to derive all the benefit of the nutri- 
tion in the food, supply them with good, sharp grit. 

If you want vigorous, profitable hens, give them a liberal supply 
of grit. 

When your hens are too fat, when they lay thin-shelled eggs, 
give them grit. 

A friend of mine was very much troubled with soft-shelled eggs. 
She got her husband to take his wagon to the hills, where there is 
a good quarry of what is called rotten granite. He brought home 
a load of it, and in a few days the hens laid hard-shelled eggs and 
she told me that the shells were so hard that the chicks could hardly 
break out of them. 

The value of good sharp grit can scarcely be overestimated, and 
yet even intelligent people do not realize it. Some think that there 
is grit enough in the natural soil. This is rarely the case, for hens, 
wild birds, or pigeons pick up the sharpest and best grit, so that 
even on a farm where the hens have free range, there is rarely 
enough grit of the proper kind, and when fowls are kept yarded 
there is never enough unless they are artificially supplied. If you 
doubt this, try the experiment of giving your hens some broken 
china. The pieces should not be larger than a pea and should have 
three sharp corners. You will be surprised to see how eagerly the 
hens will eat the china. 

The best layer I ever had laid 225 eggs in nine months and 
moulted during that time. She was the greatest eater of grit I 
ever saw. Every night before going to roost she ran down to the 
grit box and took three pieces. Every time she laid an egg she 
refreshed herself with some grit, and I learned by observation that 
all my best layers were the most constant visitors to the grit box. 
Hens that consume the most grit are those that get the most nutri- 
ment out of their food, lay the most eggs, are the heaviest, have the 
most fertile eggs and pay the best. 

Grit to grind the food and charcoal to keep it pure during this 
process and, for laying hens, oyster shells to supply the lime for 
the eggshells, these are so necessary that we are almost tired of 
the mention of them in the poultry papers, but, "lest we forget," I 
have written about them asrain. 



PESTS OF A POULTRY YARD 



Fleas 

The common hen flea (pulex avium) is prevalent in the Pacific 
States- It is found in filthy hen houses, especially those located 
on sandy soil. Dirty nests, cracks, dust and dark corners are fa- 
vorite breeding places for them. They produce great irritation of 
the skin and in young birds the growth may be permanently stunted 
and many young chickens killed by them. 

For treating flea bites, bathe the bites with vinegar and water, 
or lemon juice, and apply carbolated vaseline or lard in which a 
little carbolic acid has been mixed — 5 drops of carbolic acid (90 per 
cent) to a tablespoonful of lard. 

To free poultry houses and yards of the fleas, use whitewash 
freely, adding a pint of carbolic acid to every twelve gallons of 
whitewash. Spray it or slop it thoroughly into all the corners and 
cracks. Dark dusty places in the poultry yard afford favorable 
breeding places for fleas. These corners should be soaked with 
hot soapsuds or boiling salt water to kill the young broods of fleas. 
Use carbolized lime, tobacco dust and moth balls in the nests. 

Bedbugs and Ticks 

Bedbugs oometimes attack poultry on their roosts and suck their 
blood. In Caliiornia there is also a species of tick that is fatal to 
poultry which somewhat resembles the bedbug of the East. To 
destroy them fumigation is usually employed, either fumigating 
with sulphur, or, better still, the cyanide process used for the scale 
on citrus trees. 

To fumigate with sulphur close every door and window and see 
that there are no cracks to admit the air. Burn one pound of sul- 
phur for every 100 square feet of floor space in the house. A house 
10x10 will require one pound of sulphur; one 20x10, two pounds, 
and so on. The sulphur must be burned in iron vessels which 
should be set on gravel or sand, so there may be no danger from 
fire. Into each vessel put a handful of carpenter shavings saturated 
with kerosene and upon these sprinkle the sulphur. Apply a 
match to the shavings and hastily leave the house, closing the door. 
The house should remain closed for 5 hours- Fumigation may be 
followed by thoroughly whitewashing the inside of the house. 
Painting or spraying the house with corrosive sublimate is also 
very effective. Care must be used in handling this poison. 

Mites 
There are several varieties of the tiny blood-sucking mites to be 
found in carelessly kept henneries. The red mite is the most com- 
mon and active of all parasites which attack birds. It is about one 
thirty-fifth of an inch in length, white or grey in color, except when 
filled with blood, when they will be red or black. It hides by day 
in the corners and crevices of buildings, nests, perches, floors, etc., 
where they may be found in clusters. At night these clusters scat- 



102 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

ter over the birds and by pricking the skin can fill themselves with 
blood. They are injurious not only on account of the blood they 
draw, but because of the itching pain and loss of rest. They will 
even kill young fowls and sitting hens. When they are discovered 
vigorous means should be adopted to get rid of them. The Iowa 
State Experiment Station gives a full description of the best and 
cheapest way of exterminating these mites. At this station the 
kerosene emulsion was found to be perfectly effective in killing 
them. It is made as follows : 

KEROSENE EMULSION— In one gallon of boiling water dis- 
solve one pound bar of soap or one pound of soap powder. Remove 
from the fire, add immediately one gallon of kerosene, churn or agi- 
tate violently for ten minutes, or until the solution becomes like a 
thick cream. If the oil and water separate on standing, then the 
soap was not caustic enough. Take one quart of this, add to it ten 
quarts of water ; spray thoroughly the houses every three days with 
this diluted emulsion until all the mites are exterminated. To make 
it more effective, you may add one pint of crude carbolic acid to the 
emulsion as soon as taken from the fire- The diluted emulsion (one 
part to ten of water) is also used to rid fowls of lice. By using this 
spray once a month always, the houses can be kept perfectly free 
from vermin and thoroughly disinfected from disease- 
Lice 

There are nine varieties of lice affecting poultry. • Some of these 
lice spread rapidly. One infested bird is capable of spreading the 
vermin through a large flock. They cause dumpishness, drooping 
wings, indifference to food and may stunt or even kill the chicks. 
One of the best means of preventing lice is the dust bath. This 
bath should be a wallow of freshly turned earth, mellow and 
slightly damp, out of doors under some tree in the summer time, or 
in a box six or eight inches deep in the hennery in the rainy weather. 
Provided with a good dust bath, healthy hens will almost keep 
themselves clean from lice. When fowls are badly infested with 
lice they should be well dusted with a good lice powder, of which 
there are a number on the market. 

In looking for lice on a fowl, examine the head feathers care- 
fully, one by one, then look under the wings and along the shafts 
of the underside of the long wing feathers, examine the feathers 
of the cushion and saddle down to the skin, and then turn 
the fowl quickly and look beneath and around the vent. If you 
have eyes to see you will find them. If you find only one or two, 
a thorough dusting of the bird will be all that is needed, but if the 
lice are plentiful, a more vigorous treatment will be necessary. Lice 
breed very rapidly on the fowl among the feathers where the 
warmth of the bird's body can hatch the eggs, which are deposited 
singly or in clusters among the soft feathers. They seldom ever 
breed on young chicks, but are passed along to the chick by some 
lousy adult bird. 



PESTS OF A POULTRY YARD 103 





Lice Eggs on Hen's Feather. Should be PueeEd Out and Burned. 

How to Keep Poultry Free from Lice 

The following formula is used at the Maine and Cornell Ex- 
periment Stations : 

Take three parts of gasoline, one part of crude carbolic acid. 
Mix these together and add gradually, while stirring, enough plas- 
ter of Paris to take up all the moisture, the liquid and the dry 
plaster should be thoroughly mixed and stirred, so that the liquid 
will be uniformly distributed through the mass of plaster. When 
enough plaster has been added, the resulting mixture should be a 
dry, pinkish brown powder, having a fairly strong carbolic odor 
and a rather less pronounced gasoline odor. 

Do not use more plaster, in mixing, than is necessary to blot 
up the liquid- This powder is to be worked into the feathers of 
the bird affected with vermin. The bulk of the application should 
be in the fluff around the vent and under the wings. Its efficiency 
can be very easily demonstrated by anyone to his own satisfac- 
tion. Take a bird that is covered with lice and apply the powder 
in the manner described. After a lapse of about a minute, shake 
the bird, loosening its feathers with the fingers at the same time, 
over a clean piece of paper. Dead and dying lice will drop on the 
paper in great numbers. Anyone who will try this experiment will 
have no further doubt of the wonderful efficiency and value of this 
powder. 

For a Spray or Paint 

To be applied to roosting boards, walls and floor of the hen 
house, the following preparation is used : 

Three parts of kerosene and one part crude carbolic acid. This 
is stirred up when used and may be applied with any of the hand 
spray pumps or with a brush. 

In both of these formulas it is highly important that crude car- 
bolic acid be used, instead of the purified product. Be sure and 
insist on getting crude carbolic acid. It is a dark brown, dirty 
looking liquid and its value depends on the fact that it contains 
tar oil and tar bases in addition to the pure phenol (carbolic acid). 



DISEASES OF POULTRY 



There is no reason for chickens being unhealthy except, as a 
general thing, from the carelessness or ignorance of their owners. 
Carelessness in not keeping the fowls clean, in not being regular 
in their feeding, in the lack of pure water and shade and in giving 
them either draughty sleeping quarters or too close and badly vent- 
ilated coops. 

Poultry keepers in the East, after years of trouble and anxiety 
over roup, which I really think is much worse there than here, are 
coming to the conclusion that open-front houses, even there, where 
they have zero weather, will prevent roup and colds. 

Here in our favored climate, open-front houses, cleanliness and 
plenty of green food are a sure prevention of roup. 

I am glad to be able to say that although there are more than 
double the number of pure-bred fowls in California now than ever 
before, there is a minimum amount of roup. Poultry raisers are 
using common sense in the feeding and care of chickens, looking 
upon poultry raising as a business, a money proposition, when 
handled in a business-like way, and the result is very little roup 
and less sickness of any kind. 

Roup must be transmitted by contagion ; healthy fowls will not 
have it unless a roupy fowl is introduced into the flock, or the in- 
fection is brought in through water or food, through coops in which 
roupy fowls have been confined or through the infection being car- 
ried on the garment of the attendant- 
Many Kinds of Roup 

It was formerly the custom to call nearly all the ailments of 
fowls due to taking cold by the name of "Roup." Dr. Salmon of 
the Bureau of Animal Industry, Washington, D. C, makes a dis^ 
tinction, however, between the different kinds of colds or roup, 
simple catarrh and infectious catarrh, also called roupy catarrh, and 
diphtheritic catarrh or diphtheritic roup. Simple catarrh is easily 
cured, will often get well without treatment; roupy catarrh is very 
infectious and more difficult to cure ; but diphtheritic roup is the 
worst of all and greatly resembles the diphtheria of children. 
There is also another disease called "Canker" which much resem- 
bles diphtheritic roup, but is less severe. It is caused by another 
germ and needs other treatment. 

Catarrh 

All of these diseases commence in the same manner. Usually 
the first symptoms noticed are a slight discharge from the nostrils, 
eyes wet and watery from mucus, and often some bubbling at the 
corners with coughing and sneezing. In simple catarrh more seri- 
ous symptoms will not have developed in a few days, but with 
roupy catarrh the discharge thickens and obstructs the breathing 
by filling the nostrils and there is a foul odor to it. Sometimes 
swell head develops, then one or both eyes are closed, the birds 
wipe their eyes on their shoulders, sleep with their heads under 
their wings and the discharge sticks to and dries on their feathers. 



PESTS OF A POULTRY YARD 105 

This dried mucus will spread the disease through the flock, for in it 
are the germs of the disease, the seeds of which may be sown when- 
ever the chicken moves or shakes itself, or when others touch it or 
a feather falls. Chickens with this disease should be isolated, the 
mucus gently washed off, using a disinfectant in the water, a few 
drops of carbolic acid or a tablet of protiodide of mercury in a pint 
of water. Roupy catarrh is difficult of cure, is very infectious and 
often fatal. 

Diphtheritic Roup 
Diphtheritic roup is the worst of all. It requires different reme- 
dies to the simple catarrh or roupy catarrh. It commences usually 
in the same manner with a slight cold, but the mucous membrane of 
the mouth, throat, nasal passages, and the eyes are affected. False 
membrane forms on these parts, very much resembling in appear- 
ance the diphtheria of children, and by some thought to be the 
same- At first the patches are small and scattered but have a tend- 
ency to run together. The disease appears suddenly, the fowl is 
feverish, dumpish and disinclined to eat. As the disease progresses 
the mouth and throat become filled with false membrane and 
mucus until the fowl dies of suffocation, or the poison from the 
disease gets into the circulation and the fowl dies of blood poison- 
ing or paralysis. 

Canker 

Canker is sometimes confounded with diphtheria. It is an ulcer- 
ative disease of the mouth. It is frequently found in cock birds after 
fighting and is common in birds that have been working in mouldy 
or. musty litter or that have been fed on spoiled grain. The disease 
is seldom noticed until the fowl shows a collection of yellowish 
ulcers or cheesy growth on the roof of the mouth, the side of the 
tongue or the angles of the jaws, and sometimes at the opening of 
the windpipe. It is very common among pigeons. 

Roup cures can be bought at the principal poultry supply houses, 
but for the use of those living in the country too far away to pro- 
cure these, I will give a few simple remedies that can be easily and 
quickly used in the first stages, thus arresting an epidemic. For 
local treatment a good atomizer is the most satisfactory way of ap- 
plying it, or a small syringe, and as handy as anything is a small 
sewing machine oil can. 

Remedies 

(1) When first the cold is noticed, put a bit of Bluestone (sul- 
phate of copper) in the drinking water. A piece as big as a navy 
bean in a quart of water, not any stronger. This is a germ killer, 
dries up the cold in the head, is a disinfectant and will prevent the 
other chickens taking the disease. So if any chick takes cold, put 
this into the water of the whole flock for a week to prevent the 
disease spreading. 

(2) For a Common Cold: A pill of quinine and one of asa- 
foetida (1 gr. of each), with half a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper 



106 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

will frequently cure a cold in one night. Aconite also is a good 
remedy. One drop in a teaspoonful of milk. Always give a grown 
hen the same dose as to adult human being- 

The following are cures for Roupy Catarrh : 

(3) One tablespoonful of castor oil, half a tablespoonful tur- 
pentine, a tablespoonful of kerosene, a tablespoonful of camphor- 
ated oil and four. drops of carbolic acid. Shake before using. Squirt 
a drop up each nostril and into the cleft of the mouth, and for swell 
head rub the whole head with it. This is an excellent cure and 
cheap. 

(4) Put one cupful of kerosene in half a gallon of water; the 
oil will float on top ; dip the fowl's head slowly into this, holding it 
under whilst you count three. It will sneeze and cough and you 
must wipe off all the mucus with a rag and carefully burn the rag. 
Repeat the treatment twice a day. 

(5) Take of lard two tablespoonsful ; vinegar, mustard, cayenne 
pepper, each one tablespoonful ; mix thoroughly, add flour enough 
to make a stiff dough. Give a bolus of this the size of the first 
joint of the little finger. One dose frequently cures. If not, repeat 
in twelve or twenty-four hours. 

(6) Dr. N. W. Sanborn gives as a remedy: "Spray all mucous 
surfaces with the following: Extract of Witch Hazel, four table- 
spoonsful ; liquid carbolic acid, four drops ; water, two tablespoons-, 
ful. Do this twice a day, squeezing the bulb of the atomizer five 
times for each nostril and twice for the mouth. If there are any 
watery or foamy eyes, give one squeeze for each. 

(7) One part of pulverized gum camphor and seven parts of 
pulverized liquorice root. Blow up the nostrils, into the cleft of 
the mouth and down the throat. This should be made fresh, as the 
camphor evaporates- 

(8) Five drops of eucalyptus oil on a bit of bread or a lump of 
sugar night and morning. 

(9) For Diphtheritic Roup : Peroxide of hydrogen is, I think, 
the best remedy. Dilute with from one to three parts of water. 
The solutions, when applied to diseased surfaces, begin to foam, 
and should be repeated until there is no more bubbling. A little of 
the solution forced into the nostrils by the use of a dropping tube 
or atomizer is driven higher up into the nostrils by the force of 
the foaming, reaching parts otherwise out of touch. 

(10) For Canker: Four grains of Sulpho-carbolate of zinc to 
one ounce of distilled water. Paint the canker spots with this night 
and morning and in three days the germs will be destroyed. The 
chickens should have nourishing food, such as bread and milk and 
chopped onions. 

If you have any doubts as to whether the disease is canker or 
roup, you had better use the peroxide of hydrogen one day and the 



PESTS OF A POULTRY YARD 107 

zinc the day following, alternating the treatment. It will not do 
to mix the two medicines at the same time, as one neutralizes 
the other. 

Kileroup, a patent medicine which is very highly extolled and 
can be bought at any supply house (see advertisement at the end 
of the book). 

The Diseases of the Lungs Are Bronchitis 

Bronchitis : Bronchitis is confined to the lining membrane of 
the breathing tubes. Bronchitis is caused by exposure to storms, 
especially when birds are housed in too close or too warm a build- 
ing, or by sudden atmospheric changes, direct currents of cold air, 
irritating particles of dust or lime, or by spreading of inflamma- 
tion from catarrh of throat or nostrils. It is not considered in- 
fectious, though it may be almost epidemic from the same cause af- 
fecting several of the flock. Birds sent on trains to an exhibition or 
to a new owner sometimes develop bronchitis. The hot, close air 
of the show room and the warm corner of the express car, suc- 
ceeded by exposure to wind or cold, very frequently develops bron- 
chitis. 

Symptoms. — There is from the first a rise of temperature, and 
a little difficulty in breathing. The lining membrane of the bron- 
chial tubes is dry and swollen, hindering the passing in and out 
of the air- On listening to the respiration, a whistling sound may 
be heard; later on a rattling or bubbling sound, caused by the air 
passing through accumulations of mucus, is heard. 

Treatment. — Place the affected birds in a comfortable and rea- 
sonably dry place, where the temperature will be even. Give soft 
and cooling, but nourishing, food, such as bread and milk. Give one 
drop of tincture of aconite every three hours, and two or three times 
a day, a half teaspoonful of honey with five drops of eucalyptus oil. 
Kileroup is also a good cure for bronchitis. 

Roup, Cure For. — The following treatment for roup, when it 
has extensively infected the flock, is recommended by the New 
York Experiment Station : A solution is made of one teaspoonful 
of permanganate of potash, dissolved in one pint of water. All the 
cheesy matter is picked off with a toothpick and the spots painted 
with iodine. Then the heads of the sick fowls are dipped in the so- 
lution. This treatment to be repeated daily until a cure is effected. 



TOWN LOT FOWLS 



The rear of a city lot can be made to yield both profit and pleas- 
ure when devoted to poultry and fruit trees, and many families may 
enjoy fresh eggs and an occasional roast chicken, or a "Christ- 
massy" chicken pie by simply utilizing some of the vacant space 
in the rear yards of their homes. 

We sometimes hear that chickens cannot be raised successfully 
on a city lot because the land is too valuable and that the business 
will not pay where all the food has to be bought. 

The value of a city lot is often overestimated when chicken 
raising is suggested for the back yard, but the question is, what 
income is your back lot now yielding? 

I expect that the majority of city back lots are either an outlay 
or an eyesore to their owners. They grow nothing but grass or 
weeds, for which nothing is received- When mowed there is that 
expense to it, with the water tax added, which is not inconsiderable. 

As much as I like lawn and flowers in the front of the house, I 
think the ofttimes neglected back yard should be made valuable 
also. Nothing to my taste can improve it like fruit trees, which are 
benefited by having poultry around them, and will bring in good 
returns, as I know by experience- 

The main requisite to making a success of poultry raising on a 
city lot, or anywhere else in fact, is to be thoroughly in love with 
your fowls and your trees. The man or woman who hates to work 
around the hens, who grudges the time and trouble, will never 
make a success of the work and had better let it alone. 

How to plan your back lot? It should be fenced to suit your 
space and poultry. If it is a small yard, it may be difficult to fence 
it high enough for the active breeds, such as the Leghorns, but if 
you use poultry netting and do not place any rail on the top, you 
will not have any trouble with' the American breeds, even with a 
comparatively low fence. If there is no rail on the top, the fowls 
do not see where the netting ends and they seldom try to find the 
top, but with a rail they light on that and over they go. 

It may help a beginner to see the plan of my chicken yard on a 
city lot. The chicken yards are 50 feet by 32 feet; there are eight 
fruit trees and three water faucets in the yard. The fruit trees, 
plum, • peach and fig, yielded several dollars' worth of fruit two 
years after planting, and as they grew older, increased the value of 
the crop in the back lot, and gave the fowls shade. 

Hen House Construction 

The earth around the trees is kept well spaded and moist, so the 
hens enjoy it as a dust bath and that keeps them clean from lice and 
mites. The hen house is a shed thirty-two feet long and eight feet 
wide. It is divided in two parts for two pens of fowls. Each end 
of it is composed of a roosting room eight feet by eight feet, with 
space enough for forty hens, if necessary, although I never wish 
to keep more than twenty-five in each side. 



TOWN LOT FOWLS 



109 



The roosting room is separated from the scratching pen only by 
a board twelve inches wide, to keep out the straw. The back and 
sides of the roosting room are of tongued and grooved flooring and 
perfectly tight. The whole length of the front of the shed is open, 
except the roosting room, which has a front of burlap. One side of 
the roosting room is entirely open into the scratching pen, so that 
the roosting room is only tightly enclosed on two sides and has 
free ventilation into the scratching pen and only the burlap on the 
south side. Consequently my fowls never have colds. The roof is 
of shakes twelve inches to the weather. The back of the shed is 
six and a half feet high, the front five feet- 



PIANOFQUCICEK 




At the south end of the two yards is a smaller one for sitting 
hens or for young chicks, as they do better kept away from the 
older fowls. This small yard is very useful for fattening chickens, 
turkeys or ducks for the table, and in it I have a small portable 
coop for the youngsters. 

I have a water faucet in each yard. This is a great saving of 
labor and anxiety, for if I am to be absent any length of time I 
leave the faucet dripping just a little and know the hens will not 
go thirsty. 

I feed grain in the scratching pens, dry mash in hoppers, green 
lawn clippings and refuse vegetables, besides the table scraps. 

There is a saying that an American family wastes or throws 
away food enough to support a French family. Why not give all 
this waste to some hens? The table scraps, the scrapings of the 
plates, the outer leaves of cabbages, even the parings of potatoes, 
apples and nearly all vegetables now consigned to the garbage pail 
would be enough to almost keep a few hens. 



110 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

Possibilities of a Town Lot 

Have you any idea what returns one dozen laying pullets or 
hens would give you? I have, for I have kept that number on a 
town lot. I have not an accurate account of all the eggs laid, but 
I know there were over two thousand in one year, more than 
enough to supply a family of six with delicious fresh eggs and to 
raise between fifty and sixty young fowls for frying and roasting, 
besides the old ones for stews for "poulet au ris," a French dish 
of which we are extremely fond. 

Nine-tenths of the home owners have sufficient space in their 
back yards to produce enough chickens and eggs to supply their 
own families, and in this way greatly lessen the expense of living, 
or in other words, make enough to pay their meat and grocery 
bills, or else give them all the fresh eggs they can consume with 
a nice fry always available for Sunday dinner or when a friend 
unexpectedly drops in. 

I will give you a formula for feeding hens on a town lot which I 
will guarantee will give you eggs in abundance and at all seasons. 
It is easy to feed, for all you have to do is to mix it dry in a big 
box and dip up half a bucket, once or twice a week and fill a box 
or hopper full of it as the need is. It is quite dry and will keep any 
length of time. 

Formula for Balanced Ration 

Mix by measure two parts bran, one part corn-meal, one part 
oat-meal, one part alfalfa meal, one part beef scraps. Keep some 
of this in a box or hopper or bucket — dry, perfectly dry — always 
before the hens. This dry food in the hopper lasts quite a long 
time, for the hens prefer the table scraps which are fed to them 
only once a day (at night) and they like lawn clippings, but this 
dry feed keeps them in just the right condition for egg production 
— neither too fat nor too thin. 

If you do not want to take the trouble to mix this for yourself, 
you can go to any of the poultry supply houses and buy the food 
already mixed. This food when put up by reliable firms is what is 
called the "balanced ration" — that is, it contains the elements of 
the egg — and when the hens are fed this they simply cannot help 
laying. They are egg machines which turn the properly balanced 
ration into eggs- 



THE MOULTING SEASON 



The moult with hens in the natural state lasts from sixty to 
a hundred days, but with some hens, especially with hens that have 
hard, close-growing feathers, the moult and the results of it will 
sometimes last over a hundred and fifty days ; in fact I have known 
of some that went six months without laying any eggs. Too long- 
to spend half a year dressmaking. Think of the loss to their 
owners ! I did not wonder at the man who told me of it, saying 
that he just turned them out and "let the blamed things rustle for 
themselves," but I thought if he had helped them "rustle" perhaps 
they would not have been so long about it. 

Let us consult Nature, as you know I am very fond of doing. 
After the wild bird has raised her young and her responsibilities 
are somewhat over, she moults. The older she is the longer and 
slower is the process of dropping her feathers and growing them 
again, because as she ages her vitality is gradually lessening. It is 
the same with hens; the older a hen becomes the longer will be 
the period of the moult, and not only that but the later will it com- 
mence. Let us again turn to Nature and in this copy her. We 
want the old hens, if we keep them at all, to be the parents of our 
young next spring and we are only keeping them over for a certain 
reason (or for sentiment), as they have, perhaps, proved them- 
selves to be our very best layers, or as the parents of our prize win- 
ners, or may be prize winners themselves and therefore we want 
their offspring in the hopes of perpetuating these excellent traits. 

The Starving Process 

How shall we help these elderly hens to get quickly through the 
moult? Some years ago I read of a man in New York State, who 
claimed he could make his hens moult at any time of the year and 
therefore he could also, by controlling the moult, make his hens 
lay at any time of the year. His plan was to starve the hens and 
so stop their laying, and when they had stopped for a week or two 
he fed them highly with fattening food. This he said made them 
moult and drop their feathers very quickly, so that in a few days 
the hens would be almost nude and the new feathers would come 
in very rapidly. His theory was that when hens sit for three weeks 
on eggs and raise a brood of chickens they moult quickly because 
they grow thin during incubation, and when they have the rich 
feed which is given to the little chicks, it makes them shed their 
feathers and assists the moult. 

His theory sounded very plausible and I decided if he could do 
it I could also, and tried. I discovered the New Yorker was only 
partly right in his deductions and that it does not pay to force 
Nature out of season. 

The following year I was much more successful, for I only 
attempted to "assist" Nature and not to "force" her. I did not try 
to make the hens moult in June, but waited till nearer to the nat- 
ural time of the moult, that is, until August. I then put the hens 



112 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

on green food. I know that is hard to get at that time, but I had 
lawn clippings, vegetables and melons, or even alfalfa hay cut in 
the clover cutter and soaked for some hours in water, and I dis- 
pensed with all the grain and meat- I kept them on this green food 
for about three weeks until their avoirdupois was considerably 
lower and most of them had stopped laying for a week. 

Dipping Fowls. 

Meanwhile during their fast I saw that they were entirely clean 
from lice, either by keeping them well dusted with insect powder 
or by giving. them a good, warm bath in warm soap suds, rinsing 
them in a two per cent solution of carbolic acid or water and creolin 
or the kerosene emulsion. I have tried all of these with good 
success. 

This washing seems to loosen the feathers and will clean the 
fowls of lice. If lice are left on the fowls at moulting time they eat 
little holes in the tender sprouting feathers and these little holes in 
the web of the feather will certainly bring a "cut" from the judge 
in the show room, and for the whole year will tell the tale of care- 
less handling by the owners. In washing or dipping fowls for lice 
there are two things to be remembered : First, do it on a bright, 
warm, sunny morning, so the fowls will have time to get thor- 
oughly dry before sundown, and, secondly, see that every feather 
is thoroughly soaked. If you skip a feather a louse will take refuge 
on it and commence to breed again as soon as the hen is dry. If 
there are any lice the disinfectant in the bath will kill them and 
the warm suds also loosens the nits of the head lice. Those lice lay 
two silvery, white nits at the shaft of the feather and it is difficult 
to get them off. 

Mature hens which are fed sparingly for about two weeks and 
then receive a rich nitrogenous ration, moult more rapidly and with 
more uniformity and enter the cold weather of winter in better con- 
dition than the fowls fed continuously during the moulting period 
on an egg-producing ration. 

What to Feed 

It is largely a question of what not to feed as well as how little 
to give the birds you wish to moult early. There is one line of 
foods that you may feed in unlimited quantities, and that is the 
green vegetable, the waste, small beets and thinnings of the garden 
rows can be supplied every day. My own plan in the days when 
I had small ungrassed yards, was to give full quantities of lawn 
clippings, putting them into the yards an hour before dark. This 
gave the birds time to fill up at night and yet the uneaten clippings 
would be still fresh in the early morning. If you have had no 
experience in the use of lawn grass you will be surprised to see 
how much a few hens will eat. If your hens have very large yards, 
with fruit trees to supply some falling apples or pears, the birds 
will do very well without other food. We are inclined to overfeed 
our birds with grain in the warm weather and, unless the food is 



THE MOULTING SEASON 113 

really much less than usual, you will fail in getting an early moult. 

This low feeding or starving process as it is called by many, 
is the important factor in the forced moult. Unless you really do 
this in good shape the birds will continue to lay and will shed theii 
feathers in mid-autumn. 

Handle your birds on the roost to test their weight. They must 
be thin in body, yet good in color of comb and wattles. I find that 
birds take from fourteen to twenty-one days to get real thin. You 
will notice as yon put this plan into practice that the egg yield will 
drop off until no eggs are being laid ; that the birds are on the run 
all the day long, coming to meet you at any point of the fence you 
may approach. The birds show that they miss some of their usual 
food. This thinning will do no harm to the birds; in fact it adds 
to the health of the birds for months to come. 

The Full Ration 

When the birds have lost all superfluous flesh, when the eggs 
have ceased to appear for a week, feed them good, full rations of 
growing foods. Now is when you add meat, beef scraps, green 
bone, cornmeal, and linseed meal. You can give them a morning 
meal of two parts cornmeal, three parts bran, one part beef scrap. 
At noon feed a small handful of wheat or barley to every bird and 
at night a full feed of wheat or corn. Do not neglect to furnish full 
supplies of green food and vegetables all the fall. 

The change from the low feed to the full rations will be followed 
by the rapid dropping of feathers. The feathers will fall off all over 
the birds so that many of them will be almost naked. This result 
will be seen in most of the birds- A few will fail to respond, more 
if you do not follow the plan as outlined. 

Keep the full feed up until the birds get the new coat of feathers 
and begin to lay a few eggs. Then feed them as you do the fully 
mature pullets ; avoid feeding of heating foods (corn and corn prod- 
ucts) lest you start another moult in the late autumn. 

The forced moult is ONLY FOR MATURED FOWLS, or 
fowls that are over a year old. You must not starve the pullets. 
You must keep them growing. They will stand more heating food 
than hens. Let the pullets do most of your winter laying, but do 
not neglect anything that will induce the older birds to give you a 
good share in the profits of winter eggs. 

To sum up the whole matter in a few words, if you want to has- 
ten the moult, do not try the experiment with all your fowls, but 
take a few, separate them from the others, and about the middle 
or end of August commence to shorten their food. You can do this 
suddenly, giving them only green food and all the green feed they 
want. Secondly, keep this green feed up for two or three weeks, 
or at least one week after they have stopped laying. Thirdly,_ the 
green food should be clover, lawn clippings, alfalfa hay cut in a 
clover cutter and soaked in water; beet tops, cabbage, lettuce, etc. 
Fourthly, after the three weeks' fast, feed rich food, fattening food, 
sunflower seeds, kaffir corn, wheat, barley, oats and meat. Fifthly, 



114 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

when they begin to lay on this food, which they will do in about a 
month when they have completed their coat, gradually change the 
food, taking away the corn and its products, and the linseed meal, 
and anything that would be very fattening. 

Color of Feathers and Skin 

The feeding of the fattening foods adds heat to the body, fever 
our grandmothers called it, and this fever seems to loosen the 
feathers all at once — just what we want — and they fall so quickly 
that the hens are almost nude. Then is the time for care in feeding 
if you have exhibition stock, for I am certain color can be greatly 
controlled by food. 

Now, I know by my own experience that yellow corn will give 
yellow feathers (brassy feathers) to white fowls when freely fed ; 
that cottonseed meal will have the same effect, for that is what we 
add to the fattening food the last week to give the yellow tint to 
the skin. I know that iron in the drinking water has the same effect 
with white fowls. With colored fowls, such as Brown Leghorns 
or Partridge fowls or Buffs the iron and the corn will intensify and 
make more brilliant and bright their colors- 

The fowls that are making their new coats, the coats that have 
to last the hens a year, all need plenty of green food and grain. The 
white fowls instead of yellow corn, should have oats, hulled oats 
are best, but if you cannot get hulled oats, soak the oats in scalding 
water so the hulls will be softened. Hulled oats may appear to be 
more expensive than the unhulled, but there is so much waste, so 
much indigestible fiber to the unhulled oats, that I decided that it 
was more profitable to feed the t hulled oats. For those who are 
feeding cockerels which they want to exhibit in the winter ; for 
the white or black and white, give them shade, plenty of shade, 
for our California sun will draw out the yellow ; cut off all the 
yellow corn and all cottonseed meal; feed oats, wheat, barley, grit, 
charcoal and have granulated bone always before them. For the 
colored fowls add linseed meal to the ration. It will deepen and 
brighten the colors. 




Fine Head Bufe Wyandotte. O. S. Hofeman. 



VALUE OF ECONOMY 



The old saying, "a penny saved is a penny earned," may well 
apply to the poultry business. To make money in the business, one 
must practice economy in every direction. 

Economy in Grain 

First: Economy in buying the food. This is very important. 
The available grains vary in different places in price; in some 
localities, for instance, barley is cheaper than wheat, then utilize 
barley; that is to say if there is a decided difference in the cost, 
remembering that barley has a husk on it, which is indigestible 
fiber, and that fowls do not like it as well as wheat, although they 
eat it readily if rolled, or soaked or sprouted, and the analysis shows 
the same nutritive ratio as wheat. Again in some places, oats can 
be obtained very cheaply, and this is a most valuable grain for 
feeding and building up large, sturdy frames in the young fowls, 
promoting egg laying and inducing fertility in the eggs. I have 
great faith in oats — it is good for man, beast or bird, but the husk 
is the difficulty there. The oats should be scalded or clipped, or 
better still, hulled, to make it thoroughly available. In Oregon 
and Washington, oats is less expensive than in the south, and 
therefore should be freely used there. By commencing the use 
of it early, the chicks will be vigorous and of large frame. 

Then, again, rice, rice hulls and rice bran are cheap in certain 
localities, such as in San Francisco and Seattle, where large quanti- 
ties are imported and cleaned, and these can be had very cheaply 
and utilized either in the dry or wet mash- In other places where 
beans and peas are grown in quantities, the refuse of these, which 
is not worth marketing, can be used most advantageously. 

Broom corn seed is a most excellent food and costs very little. 
I had in Oklahoma many tons of this, to which the fowls had free 
access and with green growing winter wheat, a little milk and table 
scraps, they laid all through the moult and through the winter, 
notwithstanding the blizzards and zero weather. Nothing seemed 
to stop their laying, and I attributed it to the broom corn seed. 
Sorghum seed is equally good. 

Another little economy I found quite good among the little 
chickens was buying dry or stale bread from the bakeries at 25c 
a sack weighing 25 pounds. This I took home, cut same in slices 
and dried in the sun or in the oven, ground in the grist mill and 
used either moistened or dry, for chickens, turkeys and ducks. 

Economy in Vegetables 

Then, again, there are the various vegetables, many of which 
can be had for almost nothing. There are "small potatoes." It gen- 
erally raises a smile to talk of these, but they make a most excel- 
lent addition and variety to the fowls' bill of fare. Small raw po- 
tatoes can be chopped up in the chopping bowl in a few minutes, 
also turnips, carrots and onions, and the outer leaves of cabbage, 



116 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

cauliflower or celery. I bought the largest chopping, or butter bowl, 
I could find, and a double-bladed chopping knife, and used it every- 
day, especially for the little chickens and turkeys. Small potatoes, 
turnips and carrots can be boiled, mashed, mixed with bran and 
blood meal, or with milk, and make a good variety in the diet. If 
you have other vegetables to spare such as beets, cucumbers, 
pumpkins, etc., and find the fowls do not at first like them, chop 
some up and mix bran with them and soon the hens will acquire 
a liking for them. 

Another economy is using the leaves which fall from alfalfa hay. 
When the haymow begins to get empty, sweep up the leaves and 
put them in a box or sack to mix in either the dry or wet mash. I 
used to try to keep the last two bales of the alfalfa hay, as the balers 
would sweep up the leaves and put them in these last two and this 
was just what I wanted for my hens. Sometimes I soaked the 
leaves and fed them at noon, keeping the alfalfa tea to mix in the 
mash with potatoes and bran or whatever I was feeding. I always 
said the alfalfa tea was as good as beef tea. There are many ways 
of economizing in the feed. 

Eocnomy in Labor 
Another thing to economize is labor. I know many a farmer's 
busy wife will agree with me in this. I found the dry feed a great 
saving of time and strength. It was much less labor to carry around 
to my many pens of fowls, buckets full of dry food nicely mixed in 
the proper proportions and pour it into a box, or trough or hopper 
and let the hens eat it dry, instead of laboriously mixing it with 
water. Before trying the dry feed, I had so many hens that I had 
a large trough made, like a plasterer's trough, and I used to mix 
and turn the mash with a spade or hoe and then fill those large 
buckets full and put them on a child's express wagon to pull out to 
the pens. This was quite hard work and I hailed with joy the 
easier task of carrying the lighter buckets of dry food. I found, too, 
that it saved time to mix up the food by the sackful or binful-; then 
all that was required was to dip up a bucketful for each pen. I 
showed this plan to a friend of mine and later had a letter from her 
telling me it was a great comfort, for all she had to do was to send 
her Jap boy out to that certain box or bin and tell him to feed that ; 
she knew he could not make a mistake for it was ready mixed. 

Economy in Water 

Another economy : Have a water faucet in each pen. This may 
seem like an expense at first, but it 'will pay in the end, for fresh 
water is as important as good food, and if it requires but a turn of 
the faucet the hens are sure to be amply supplied. At one ranch 
where there was an abundance of water, I saw a small fountain 
which ran into a basin and that in turn overflowed into some cobble- 
stones and a drain, so that the hens had always fresh water with- 
out drawing on either the strength or time of their owner. 

I would, however, caution chicken raisers against allowing the 
water to run in a stream from pen to pen, as that may carry infec- 



VALUE OF ECONOMY 117 

tion, especially the infection of colds and roup. One gentleman 
who had 3000 fowls told me that letting the water run in a small 
stream through his pens, had ruined him in the chicken business. 
One pen at the top of the hill got roup, and the infection was carried 
through to all of them. In Kansas one of the worst outbreaks of 
chicken cholera came from a creek. All the farms on that creek 
lost all, or nearly all, their chickens, from drinking contaminated 
water. A faucet in every yard would be cheaper in the end than an 
outbreak of roup or cholera- 
Economy in Fencing 
Economy in fencing came in very handily one summer. I found 
I could make a very good temporary chicken-wire fence with posts 
50 feet apart by "darning" in a lath every eight feet or so, passing 
this lath in and out of the wire meshes before putting up the wire. 
This keeps the wire stretched and when taken down it can simply 
be rolled up and used over and over again, keeping the lath in it 
ready for the next time. I found chicken-wire and lath quite an 
economy. I made cat and hawk-proof little pens of this. Bought 
a bundle of six-foot lath, some two-foot chicken-wire and made 
most useful little panels six feet long with the laths, stretching the 
chicken wire on them and tacking it down with two-pointed tacks. 
I wired or tied the panels at the corners and had a larger panel go 
over the top made of six-foot wire. I did not have to kill any cats 
or have fusses with the neighbors. The little panels were untied 
and piled up for the winter time and put in the barn, coming out 
almost as good as new the next season. They were cheap, light, 
easily handled and very satisfactory. 

Beware of Spoiled Food 

It is poor economy to buy spoiled grain of any kind. The best is 
none too good, and anything that is spoiled is very apt to bring in 
diseases. Wheat or any grain that has been moistened will develop 
fungoid growth ; smutty wheat, etc., is almost poisonous to fowls, 
while, of course, we know that there is no grain that so nearly 
approaches the analysis of an egg as does wheat, when it is good. 
Corn, likewise, if it has been dampened, will commence to ferment 
and that will disagree with fowls. At one time there was a fire at 
a flour mill in Los Angeles. A great deal of the spoiled wheat was 
sold for chicken feed. "Anything is good enough for chickens," 
was the cry, and hundreds of chickens lost their lives from that 
wheat. The owners of the fowls thought it was chemicals that had 
been used in suppressing the fire, but it was nothing but water, 
some of the firemen told me, that had been used for extinguishing 
the fire- The dampened wheat became musty and mouldy and it 
was that which killed the chickens. Again in using beef scraps, 
meat meal, blood meal or animal meal, be careful to buy the best 
you can get, and keep it carefully away from any dampness. 
Dampened or spoilt animal food is poisonous to the chickens and 
many a fowl has died from ptomaine poisoning from using spoiled 



118 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

animal food. One of the greatest economies is to buy in large 
quantities. 

Most Suitable Green Foods 

Whilst we are on the subject of economy we must not forget the 
two green foods that are the most suitable for fowls — clover and 
alfalfa. 

Let those who are living on a town lot have a clover lawn; 
clover requires less water than blue-grass or any lawn grass in this 
climate, and is easily growsi when once it is properly started. The 
lawn clippings are just the right length for green food and if neces- 
sary, the hens can be turned out on to the lawn two hours before 
sunset, and will then busy themselves nipping off the clover leaves ; 
they will not have time or inclination to do damage by scratching. 
A run on the lawn before bedtime is a wonderful tonic for chickens 
that are yarded closely all the day. 

Every farm should have an alfalfa patch, if not a good big 
field of alfalfa, and no chicken ranch is complete without one, for 
the youngsters should have a good alfalfa run to properly develop 
them. 

Alfalfa is a legume; is rich in nitrogen and enriches the land 
upon which it is grown. It is the best green feed next to clover 
for the hens or cows, and the hens love it. It is equally good for 
ducks and turkeys. The question of economy of labor is a very 
serious matter in poultry raising, and by having a good alfalfa 
patch upon which the hens may be turned several hours daily, the 
labor of cutting and preparing green food for them is eliminated 
and will prove a great economy. 

Hens that have an abundance of alfalfa will lay eggs with very 
rich colored yolks and these eggs are usually fertile and produce 
healthy, vigorous offspring. An alfalfa range insures health, a good 
digestion and to growing chicks, a large frame. In buying a chicken 
ranch, one of the important questions is "will the land grow al- 
falfa?" Is there sufficient water to raise a good crop of alfalfa? 

Alfalfa meal, or as it is sometimes called, Calfalfa, has been suc- 
cessfully used for hens. This is alfalfa hay ground up finely to 
form a meal. I have used this for several years and I find it some- 
times good and sometimes bad. The analysis of it made by the 
University of California shows the protein content to be very high, 
and the nutritive ratio to be 1 :3-3. This is the good meal. The 
poor meal contains too much fiber, and, as Prof. Rice of Cornell 
University remarked, "It is better for stuffing a bed than a hen." 
It all depends upon the quality of the alfalfa. Sometimes it is left 
until it is too old or is not properly cured, and is almost valueless; 
at other times it may have been dampened and become musty. 
When this is the case, it will disagree with the fowls and give them 
diarrhoea. To test it, pour boiling water upon it, and if it smells 
sweet, like hay, it is all right. If there is a musty, mildewy smell, 
discard it. 



PRESERVING EGGS 



Of twenty methods of preserving eggs tested in Germany, the 
three which proved the most effective were coating the eggs with 
vaseline, preserving them in lime water, and preserving them in 
water-glass. The conclusion was reached that the last was prefer- 
able, because varnishing the eggs with vaseline takes considerable 
time and treating them with the lime water may give them a dis- 
agreeable taste. These drawbacks are not to be found with eggs 
preserved in water-glass, which unquestionably is the best pre- 
servative yet discovered. The most difficult point probably in the 
use of water-glass for preserving eggs is its tendency to vary in 
quality. As a matter of fact, there are two or three kinds of water- 
glass, and in addition to the fact that the buyer does not always 
have a distinct idea as to what he wants, the local druggist may not 
know all about it, or he may not know which kind is best for pre- 
servative purposes. The main use of these preparations for years 
has been the rendering of fabric non-inflammable. This use in the 
Royal Theater of Munich has rendered the place fireproof by its 
use as a varnish in the fresco work, woodwork, scenery and cur- 
tains. It is also used for hardening stone and protecting it from 
the action of the weather. It was thus used many years ago, to ar- 
rest the decay of the stones in the British Houses of Parliament. 
The use of this medium for egg preservation is comparatively new, 
especially in this country, and it is not to be wondered at that deal- 
ers do not always supply just what is wanted. 

Different Names for Water Glass 

If we used the term soluble glass or "dissolved glass" in prefer- 
ence to either water-glass or silicate of soda, it might better de- 
scribe just what we want, although one of the other names might 
be preferable when ordering of the druggist- This term expresses 
exactly what the material is. When we buy it by the pint or quart, 
we get dissolved glass. When we buy it dry, we get a soluble glass 
powder sometimes like powdered stone, sometimes white and glassy 
as to its particles. The powdered forms are supposed to dissolve in 
boiling water, but they do not dissolve readily, and must often be 
kept boiling for some hours. 

Water-glass is made by melting together pure quartz and a caus- 
tic alkali, soda or potash, and sometimes a little charcoal. 

Several of our Experiment Stations have made some rather ex- 
haustive experiments with this dissolved glass in preserving eggs. 
The reports are, without exception, in favor of it. No other pre- 
servative is reported as being equal to this one. The stuff is invari- 
ably described as a thick or jelly-like liquid, and the proportions 
recommended are one pint of the silicate of soda to nine pints of 
water, although the Rhode Island Station reports experiments in 
which as low as two per cent of water-glass was used with favor- 
able results. This is done to find out how little could be used, but 
this small proportion was not recommended. Further trials may 
show that less than nine to one may be reliable. 



120 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

Directions for Use 

The directions for use are : Use pure water which has been 
thoroughly boiled and cooled. To each nine quarts of this water 
add one quart of water-glass. Pack the eggs in the jar and pour 
the solution over them. The solution may be prepared, placed in 
the jar and fresh eggs added from time to time until the jar is filled, 
but care must be used to keep fully two inches of water-glass solu- 
tion to cover the eggs. Keep the eggs in a cool place and the jar 
covered to prevent evaporation. A cool cellar is a good place in 
which to keep the eggs. 

If the eggs be kept in a too warm place the silicate will be 
deposited and the eggs will not be properly protected. Do not wash 
the eggs before packing, for by so doing you will injure their keep- 
ing qualities- Probably by dissolving the mucilaginous coating on 
the outside of the shell. For packing use only perfectly fresh eggs, 
for eggs that have already become stale cannot be preserved by 
this or any other method, and one stale egg may spoil the whole 
batch. 

I can speak from my own experience, for I have packed eggs in 
it for five years and shall do so again. We are fond of fresh eggs 
and use a great many, and I find it most convenient to have a jar 
or crock full of nice eggs always on hand. I have kept them my- 
self for eight months and have no doubt but that I could have pre- 
served them still longer had we not eaten them, for I found them 
to all appearances as fresh as if not over a week old. It cost about 
\ l / 2 cents per dozen to preserve them. 

The Kind of Vessels for Packing 

Prof. Ladd, of the North Dakota Agricultural Station, spoke of 
receiving a few complaints that barrels were not proving satisfac- 
tory, the water-glass appearing to dissolve some product which de- 
posited on the eggs. He thinks this might be attributed to the 
presence of glue, which had been used as a sizing for the barrels. 
In such instances, charring the barrel inside with thorough wash- 
ing thereafter, is recommended. Altogether, the preference seems 
to be for glass or stoneware vessels. 

Prof. Ladd's statement as to the satisfactory results of the 
water-glass method is very strong. He says : "This method has 
been tested in a commercial way, in nearly every state and part of 
our country, and we have not had to exceed eight adverse reports." 
One of the stations affirms that the failures reported are probably 
due to receiving water-glass of poor quality. 

It is also stated that these, like all preserved eggs, contain a 
little gas, and, when boiled, they will be likely to burst unless prev- 
iously pricked through the shell at the large end. 

As the entire processes of preservation are an effort to fence out 
germs, the recommendation not to wash off the mucilaginous coat- 
ing which nature puts on the eggs, and also to use only boiled 
water, appear very logical. When we know just what we are aim- 
ing at, we are less likely to omit the little precautions which other- 



PRESERVING EGGS 



121 



wise might seem like the whims of some fussy person- Too many 
people skip the essentials when trying to follow a formula. 

I have kept the eggs in tin receptacles, five-gallon kerosene oil 
cans and large lard pails. These kept the eggs perfectly, but after 
a time the water and silicate of soda rusted them in spots and the 
red rust formed a sediment on the eggs. This did not injure them 
as far as I could see, except giving them a brownish tinge, and on 
asking the druggist, he said he did not see why the tin should not 
be used, as the silicate of soda comes from the East in tin cans. If 
tin is used, it is best not to paint the cans or oil them, as the soda 
has an affinity for oil and will eat through it and the oil or grease 
may impart a disagreeable flavor to the eggs. Remember the eggs 
must be absolutely fresh, for one bad egg may spoil the whole 
quantity in the receptacle. 

Preserving in Lime 

The process of keeping them in lime-water is as follows : Slack 
four pounds of lime, then add four pounds of salt ; add eight gal- 
lons of water. Stir and leave to settle. The next day stir again. 
After the mixture has settled the second time, draw off the clear 
liquid. Take two ounces each of baking soda, cream of tartar, salt 
petre, and a little alum. Pulverize and mix; dissolve in two quarts 
of boiling water. Add this to the lime water. Put the eggs in a 
stone jar, small end down, one layer on top of another, and pour 
on the solution. Set the jar away in a cool place. This method is 
quite satisfactory, but not so good as the water-glass, as the eggs 
are liable to taste of the lime. 




: '"' ' ."." ' .■■;■.■, ■ ■ ' '. . " - - 



Rose; Comb White Leghorn. Courtesy Rural Californtan. 



CAPONS 

"Does Caponizing Pay?" We will consider the matter fully and 
from different points of view. 

In Philadelphia and New York, in London and Paris, capons are 
considered a great delicacy, and as we, in California, become more 
metropolitan, capons will be more and more in demand. Eleven or 
twelve years ago when I had capons for sale I could not get more 
per pound for them than for the uncaponized fowls, as the Ange- 
lenos had not been educated in taste to the excellency of capon 
meat- 
Capons are undoubtedly a more delicious dish at a year old than 
an uncaponized male bird of the same age. I had been led to sup- 
pose that a capon would be immensely heavier and larger than an 
uncaponized bird of the same age. This I found was not the case, 
the capons being rarely more than from half a pound to a pound 
heavier, if at all. My chief reason for caponizing was the desire to 
train capons for foster mothers of chicks. I wanted mothers that 
would not commence to lay as my hens did when chickens were 
two, or at most, three weeks old and then desert them. In this I 
was thoroughly successful. The trained capon will mother chicks 
just as long as the chicks will stay with him, and after a little rest 
will take another brood and mother it again, clucking to the chicks, 
feeding them, defending them, hovering them better than the hen. 
"Does caponizing pay?" Careful experiments have proved that 
the increase in weight is by no means so great as the public has 
been led to believe. It takes capons at least a month to sufficiently 
recover from the operation to catch up with their former mates in 
size and when they come to a marketable age they seldom weigh 
a pound more than the uncaponized birds of the same breed and 
age. The gain, however, in price is in their favor, for it about 
doubles that of the other. This sounds like a strong argument on 
the side of the capon, but again the cost of production is an essen- 
tial factor in the study of the question. It will cost as much to pro- 
duce a ten-pound capon as to produce three or four young chicks 
of the same combined weight ; in fact with food at the present price 
I really think it will cost more. 

"Does caponizing pay?" I knew a lady about three years ago 
who sold four capons for sixteen dollars. She was so much en- 
couraged by this, for they averaged 38 cents a pound, that the fol- 
lowing season she drove around the country buying up little cock- 
erels and caponizing them. She was very successful in operating, 
rarely losing any, but as she only stayed in the business one year, 
I think she did not consider it very remunerative. 

Easy to Learn 
The art of caponizing is simple and easy to learn. In France 
the farmers' wives and daughters have done the caponizing for cen- 
turies and practically without instruments except a sharp knife. 
In this country and age, we can buy a case of the best instruments, 



CAPONS 123 

with full instructions for use, at a low cost, and the agricultural sta- 
tions of some states give free demonstration lessons to anyone 
within the state. The Rhode Island College gives lessons in capon- 
izing in connection with its poultry course and also sends out, free, 
a book of instructions. By following these instructions and ex- 
perimenting for the first time on a dead chicken, anyone that is deft 
can learn it. The operation is performed with apparently little pain 
to the subject, and the minute the bird is released it will eat heartily 
and walk around as if nothing had occurred. 

In foreign countries the art of caponizing has been known and 
practiced for ages, yet it is not so common nor are capons so plenti- 
ful but that prices rule high and capons are considered the choicest 
of viands and above the reach of any except the rich. In this blessed 
country there is no reason why the producers of poultry should 
not feast upon capons, besides having the satisfaction of produc- 
ing and marketing strictly high-class poultry. 

Favorite Breeds for Capons 

In New England the favorite breeds for caponizing are the Light 
Brahmas and the Cochin and Brahma crosses. They are chosen on 
account of their large size and slow growth to maturity. The Ply- 
mouth Rocks follow, together with the Orpingtons and VVyan- 
dottes. The smaller breeds make, of course, much smaller capons, 
still they are popular in small families where large size is not re- 
quired. I have personally caponized only my White Plymouth 
Rocks. Nothing could be better than capons of this breed. At 
nine or ten months of age they are in their prime and the juiciness 
and flavor of their flesh is superb. 

Among the advantages of caponizing are, the birds may be kept 
together in large numbers, will not quarrel or fight, will not harass 
the hens and pullets, will not misuse the little chicks, bear crowd- 
ing and take on flesh more rapidly than cockerels. They make, 
when trained, most excellent mothers for little chickens, sheltering 
them under their long feathers and great wings. 

Best Time for Caponizing 

The best time for caponizing is in the early fall, for the reason 
that the heat of summer does not then retard recovery and also 
because the late (June hatched) cockerels are then of the best size. 

The best size is from two and a half to three pounds weight and 
this would be about the weight of June hatched chickens of the 
American breeds which if caponized in September will be well 
grown and in good shape for marketing in March, the time of the 
highest prices. 

It is to the farmers, however, that the recommendation to capon- 
ize their cockerels for the family table should appeal most strongly, 
for they are the class that would be most benefited by having good 
capons to eat. It is a simple task to caponize forty or fifty birds 
and by that simple method a farmer can provide his family with 
dinners which will be the envy of his less fortunate friends. 



124 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

The question, "Does caponizing pay?" may be answered, "Some- 
times it does and sometimes it does not." 

Capons as Brooders 

Capons make excellent mothers when trained to it- Some breeds 
would probably make more affectionate and attentive foster moth- 
ers than others. I can personally answer for the Cornish Indian 
Games and Plymouth Rocks. I have also seen beautiful Brown 
Leghorn capons that had raised several broods of chickens. Cock- 
erels hatched in November, December and January, make excellent 
capons for brooding. They should be caponized at about three 
months of age. Should be gently handled and never frightened, 
when they will become perfectly tame. The capon with its changed 
nature is even more timid than a hen or pullet, and for this reason 
should be separated from any of the older fowls and kindly treated. 

Capons should be trained at the age of about six months. They 
are easier to train at this age than at any other time, generally, but 
I have trained them at ten months of age. To train them, I keep 
the bird in solitary confinement for a few days, placing him in a 
cracker box ; place water, grit and sand in the box the same as 
though preparing for a hen and her brood. After two or three soli- 
tary nights and days I put two little chicks under him at night; they 
snuggle up under him, and he is quite glad to have the little fel- 
lows for company. The next morning he will look a little surprised 
perhaps, but usually takes them immediately, and soon begins to 
cluck to them like an old hen. The following evening I put as 
many as I intend him to care for under him, and before going to bed 
at night see that all the little fellows are under his sheltering feath- 
ers. My object in using the cracker box is that it is about the 
proper height to make it uncomfortable for the capon to stand up- 
right and he will sit for comfort; the little chicks get closer and 
make friends quicker, and have an opportunity to nestle under the 
capon as they would a hen. This training should be done in pleas- 
ant weather, because the chicks will not be hovered at first as well 
by the capon as the hen, and I use only a few chicks the first time, 
because a young capon with his first brood does not hover them 
like a trained one. 

The Whiskey Treatment 
Hen-hatched chicks take to a capon without any trouble, but 
chicks which have been several days in a brooder seem afraid of 
the capon, and instead of running to him to be hovered, huddle in a 
corner, so it is best to put them straight from the incubator under 
the capon. A writer on this subject says: "Should one of the 
capons pick the chicks I would take him out of the box and swing 
him around in a verticle circle at arm's length until he was sick, 
then put him back again. If he attempts the same thing again, I 
take a small glass syringe and inject about one tablespoonful of 
good whiskey into his crop through his mouth, and after this treat- 
ment he is pretty sure to take to the chicks. He becomes so docile 
that he allows the chicks to pick at his face and will not pick back 



CAPONS 125 

at them. When you notice this, you can rest assured that he is on 
the right road." 

I have never tried the whiskey treatment, and have never had 
any difficulty in training a capon. Capons have proved far superior 
to hens in brooding chicks, in fact they excel all other methods, 
either natural or artificial. The hen, especially "bred-to-lay" strain, 
deserts her brood at too early an age, and some hens, especially 
the pullets with a first brood, are often very stupid at caring for 
them. _ I have known a pullet to hover her chicks in a thunder 
storm in a gully where the water rushed until they were nearly all 
drowned. Pullets do not seem to have sense enough to "come in 
out of the rain," while a good capon, when once he has been taught 
his way home, will bring the little ones to shelter without any 
trouble. The capon will defend his little brood most vigorously 
against cats, dogs or any animal. He seems to develop all the latent 
parental affection and lavishes it on his young charges as if his 
one and only object in life was to care for them. 

When Changing Broods 

When the chicks are old enough to take care of themselves, be- 
fore entrusting another brood to his care, he should have a rest of 
at least two weeks, especially if the next brood is to be of another 
color. During the two weeks' rest he will forget the color of the 
chicks he had and will not be so apt to object to the new ones. 
We all know that hens will sometimes object to chicks of a differ- 
ent color and will oftentimes kill them. When once trained, a capon 
is very little trouble and will care for brood after brood without any 
more training than I have mentioned. Capons can be kept over 
several seasons. I have heard of some being used for eight years, 
but mine were usually fattened and made a toothsome dish after 
two years' service. 

It is not difficult to learn how to caponize. The tools or instru- 
ments necessary are to be found at the poultry supply houses. The 
price for a set of instruments is from $2.50 to about $4.00, largely 
depending upon the case in which they are contained. The poultry 
supply houses have books of instruction for caponizing, and at 
some of them you can learn the names of persons who, for a small 
sum, will caponize for others. It would be a good plan for several 
neighbors to join together and have the person caponize 50 or 100 
in the same day. In this way it would make the price lower. 

Capons are not much larger than cockerels of the same breed 
and age. The difference is in the table quality of the flesh. It is 
juicier and more tender, just as steer beef is superior to any other 
beef. 



TURKEYS AND HOW TO RAISE THEM 



Turkeys. — The turkey is the largest of our domestic fowls, and 
the only one that can be credited to America. To get its early his- 
tary, as far as civilized countries are concerned, it is necessary to 
gp back to European records. Until a few years ago it was thought 
that its first introduction into Europe occurred about 1524-25, but 
in Brown's "Races of Domestic Fowls" there is a supplementary 
note saying that the librarian of the Royal Palace, Madrid, recently 
(in 1906) discovered that it was introduced into -Spain as early as 
1500, eight years after the discovery of America. Pedro Nino, a 
Spanish adventurer, discovered this fowl on the coast of Cumana, 
north of Venezuela, in 1499, and the next year took it to Spain, 
along with such other curiosities as parrots, monkeys and bright- 
colored birds of other kinds. Turkeys were bred in great numbers 
by the Aztecs and other nations of Mexico and Central America. 
The bird was not found further south than the mouth of the Ori- 
noco on the east coast, but on the west coast it was found as far 
south as Peru. 

How this bird got its name has been a matter of curious specu- 
lation and much traditionary lore has been put forward as authentic 
history. As a matter of fact not a single one of the old writers 
attributes its origin to Turkey, all agreeing that it came from Amer- 
ica. Wright thinks the name might have been given it from the 
red head and neck. Others suppose that the name comes from the 
domineering habits of the bird. Unfortunate as the name was, it 
has been accepted and speculations as to its origin are of no value- 
The turkey was brought into England in 1521 or 1524. In 1541 
it was so highly esteemed that the Archbishop Cranmer prohibited 
the serving of more than one turkey cock at state dinners and the 
serving of turkey hens was forbidden altogether, as they were too 
valuable to eat. About 1570 the turkey became the recognized 
Christmas dish with the English farmer. 

It is said that the first turkey was eaten in France at the wed- 
ding of Charles XII and Elizabeth of Austria, June 27, 1576. A 
large number of the birds had been sent over from Boston to St. 
Malo and when the ship reached that port the provincial governor 
sent a dozen of them to the king's cook. The king was so pleased 
with them that he began to breed them, and the breed rapidly 
spread over France. 

Bronze Turkeys. — This variety as bred today is the direct de- 
scendant of the wild fowl, although seemingly it has decreased 
somewhat in size, as wild ones weighing 60 pounds are recorded. 
There were three varieties of turkeys in America at the time of the 
discovery : the wild turkey from which our bronze variety comes, 
a smaller Mexican variety, and still further south a variety which 
lacked the tuft of hair on the breast but has a crest or aigrette con- 
sisting of a single row of feathers on the head. The latter is in- 
digenous to South America and is called domesticated, but does 
not endure removal to colder climates. 



TURKEYS AND HOW TO RAISE THEM 



127 




Some of Ed Hart's Mammoth Bronze Turkeys on the Range, Clements. 



The bronze turkey is the heaviest of all the varieties. It re- 
quires two years to get the full weight, at which time it should 
weigh 36 pounds for cocks and 20 pounds for hens. 

Turkeys have been called the "farmers' friend," and there is no 
doubt that turkey raising on a small scale is more profitable than 
any other branch of the poultry industry and that turkeys will 
bring larger cash returns than any other stock upon the farm. 
They cost very little to raise, they eat the waste grain in the fields 
and barnyard, besides the seed of many harmful weeds. They 
consume an immense number of grasshoppers, grubs, worms and 
insects which would otherwise greatly injure the farmers' crops, 
and they are not difficult to raise if they are not overfed. 

One writer asks if chick feed is a proper and safe food for little 
turkeys, and another requests me to tell her exactly how I feed 
and care for the little turkeys. 

Chick food is neither a safe nor a proper food for little turkeys, 
although it is a most excellent food for little chicks- In fact, you 
may be sure of success when you feed it to chickens and failure it 
you feed it to turkeys. Later on I will try to explain this. 

Now, as to my way of rearing turkeys. I am glad to give it, be- 
cause now I raise every turkey that is hatched, barring accidents, 
as some will drown in the cows' trough and occasionally one or 



128 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

two get stepped on, or the door blows on one, or the puppy wor- 
ries another. None die from disease. 

I do not pretend to say that mine is the only way, but I do say 
that not only do I succeed in raising turkeys, but those who have 
followed my directions were as successful as I have been, and those 
that met with failure did not follow my plans. I have been criti- 
cized as too fussy and particular about little details, but I think it 
pays to take good care of the little things for a few weeks, for tur- 
keys are delicate only when they are little, and if properly cared 
for they will be strong and hardy when they mature. 

Grandmother's Recipe 

At my grandmother's the recipe for feeding little turkeys was as 
follows : "Leave them in the nest twenty-four hours or until the 
mother turkey brings them off; then give them only coarse sand, 
and water to drink. Meanwhile put some fresh eggs in cold water 
to boil; let them boil for half an hour; then chop them up, egg- 
shells and all, quite fine ; add an equal amount of dry bread crumbs, 
and always, always, some green food chopped up finely." 

Lettuce, dandelion or dock were the green foods at grandmoth- 
er's, and the explanation given me was that if they are fed without 
having green at every meal, they soon become constipated, then get 
sick and die. The secret of her success was the tender green food 
and the grit, a pinch of coarse sand being sprinkled over the food 
of each meal. As the little turkeys grew, a little cracked wheat and 
later whole wheat was added to their food. That was the only 
grain given. This was grandmother's recipe for raising turkeys. 

The way I feed and have fed for years is as follows : When the 
little turkeys are twenty-four hours old I put freshly-laid eggs into 
cold water and boil them for half an hour ; chop them up fine, shell 
and all; add equal parts of bread crumbs; feed dry, taking away 
what they leave, feeding the mother separately. 

The next day I feed the same, adding very finely chopped lettuce 
or dandelion leaves or green young mustard leaves and tender 
young onion tops. This is their breakfast and supper. For dinner 
they have a little curd made from clabber milk, cottage cheese 
some call it. In a few days I add cracked or whole wheat to their 
supper, and if I am short of bread crumbs I add rolled breakfast 
oats to the egg and bread crumbs I always chop up an onion a 
clay with the egg, and bread crumbs unless the onion tops are 
very young and tender. Onions are an excellent tonic for the liver 
and kidneys, and prevent worms and cure colds ; so I use onions 
freely both for turkeys and chickens. In a few days I commence 
to add wheat to their food and at two weeks of age I gradually 
arrive at giving them wheat and rolled oats for breakfast ; in the 
middle of the forenoon a head of lettuce to tear up and eat; at noon 
cottage cheese, and about four or five o'clock their supper of egg, 
bread crumbs or rolled oats, lettuce and always the chopped up 
onion. 



TURKEYS AND HOW TO RAISE THEM 



129 



I give them clean water three times a day in a drinking- foun- 
tain, or if I have not a fountain I make one out of a tomato can. 
Make a nail hole in the can about half an inch from the top, then 
fill the can up to the hole with water, invert a saucer over it, and 
holding the saucer tightly to it, turn it over quickly. This makes 
a good fountain, for the water will come slowly out of the nail hole 
into the saucer. I give the turkeys a similar fountain of skim milk, 
also. A word about the cottage cheese. I am very particular in 
making it not to allow the clabber milk to become hot. I use either 
a thermometer, letting the heat only come to 98 degrees, or I keeo 
my finger in the milk, and as soon as it feels pleasantly warm I take 
the milk off the fire, pour the curd into a cheese cloth bag and leave 
it to drain. If the milk scalds or boils, the curd will be tough, hard 
like rubber and indigestible enough to kill turkeys or chickens. 

Overfed Little Ones 

When I lived in the home of the wild turkey, Oklahoma and 
Kansas, I learned much about the care of tame turkeys. There 
"corn is king," but I was cautioned never to give corn to the young 
turkeys until after they "sport the red. - ' That is, until their heads 
and wattles become red, which happens at about three months of 
age. It was said that corn always sours on their stomachs. It 
was there I heard of a man who brought up his turkeys on nothing 
but onion tops, curd and grit, and they did well. 

One of my experiences in the land of the wild turkey may serve 
as a warning to others. I had a good old Buff Cochin hen who 
was mothering a brood of nice little turkeys. She was most as- 
siduous in her care of them; she clucked to them all da)^; called 
them up to eat all the time, and it was surprising to see how those 
little fellows grew, when one after another they began to droop 




Mammoth Bronze Turkey and Young. Ed. Hart, Clement, Cm.. 



130 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

and die, till only one was left- The other turkeys under turkey 
mothers were doing well, so I took the lone little one one night 
and put him under a mother turkey out in the meadow and saved 
his life. The old hen had overfed the others. Chicken hens are 
too anxious to feed the little turkeys. They scratch for them, coax 
them to eat, and the little turkeys are such greedy, voracious little 
things that they overeat and in consequence die. I prefer to bring 
up little turkeys under a turkey hen or even in a brooder, rather 
than under a chicken hen. The best way of managing a hen is 
to keep her in a coop, letting the little turkeys run outside or else 
tie the hen under a tree by her leg I only feed the little poults 
three times a day just what they will eat up clean in ten minutes. 
With a turkey hen I can leave wheat in a trough always accessible, 
and she will never overfeed the young. The turkey mother will 
take a few mouthsful herself and then move slowly and deliber- 
ately away and her babies will follow her, having only taken one 
or two grains each. This is more like the nature of the wild tur- 
key, and the nearer to nature one can keep in raising turkeys, the 
better will be our success. 

Nature's wild turkeys are only hatched in the spring when there 
are grubs and worms in abundance, with plenty of green grass and 
tender leaves and no grain but what is sprouting, and, above all, 
Nature never mixes mashes to turn sour and ferment on the little 
stomachs. The hard-boiled egg and the curd take the place of the 
bugs and the grubs, for we cannot supply the turkey with anything 
like the amount of grasshoppers, grubs, worms, larvae of insects 
which Nature provides in the haunts of the wild turkeys. Another 
lesson we may learn from Nature's book: Wild turkeys are only 
to be found where there are springs and streams of pure water, and 
they never wander away from the water. Give the young turkeys 
plenty of clean, pure water to drink. 

There are two chief causes of mortality in little turkeys — lice 
and overfeeding. Before giving the little turkeys to the mother to 
care for, dust them well with "buhach," and continue to do this once 
a week until they are too large to handle. Look for lice on the 
head and on the quill feathers of the wing and rub the powder 
well into them. Lice and overfeeding kill thousands of little tur- 
keys. Overfeeding kills more than lice, and if it does not kill them, 
it stunts their growth, and unfortunately until they begin to die 
at about six weeks of age, one scarcely realizes that they have been 
overfed. 

Little turkeys have voracious appetites, and if allowed to do 
so, will eat too much, and it only takes a few weeks for them to eat 
themselves into their graves. If they hunt for their food, as the 
wild turkeys do, they take it leisurely, just what they can easily 
digest, exercising between each mouthful and just enough is di- 
gested and goes into the circulation to keep them healthy. I never 
feed little turkeys all they want, only what they need, and I always 
keep them a little hungry. 



TURKEYS AND HOW TO RAISE THEM 131 

Keep Liver Healthy 

I can tell you just how overfed turkeys will die. First they will 
walk slowly, lagging behind the others, as if tired, then their wings 
will droop and they will look sleepy and will not eat, will look at 
the food as if they wanted it, but were too lazy to pick it up, then 
diarrhoea will set in, the droppings will become yellow and some- 
times green, and death will soon follow. If you hold a postmortem 
examination, as you should do over everything that dies in the 
chicken yard, you will find the liver of these little turkeys has yel- 
low or white spots on it, and on cutting into it, you may find that 
these spots are small ulcers that extend through it. Sometimes 
these ulcers are quite offensive. This comes from overfeeding, 
which gives the liver more work than it can do and it breaks down. 

The liver is the largest organ in the turkey's body, and it seems 
to be the most delicate. If you can keep that healthy, you will have 
healthy turkeys. Onions and dandelion leaves are tonic for the 
liver and the green food keeps it healthy, whilst the animal food 
and a small amount of cereal will make the frame of the turkey. 

Suppose you should see one little turkey in the brood begin- 
ning to walk slowly, what should you do? I will tell you what I 
would do. I would catch that little turkey and give a Carter's 
Little Liver Pill and follow this the next day with a little Epsom 
salts for the whole flock, and cut off some of the grain in the feed. 
You will probably -save the flock, but they may be stunted in their 
growth, and their liver many months later may break down from 
being weakened by that first attack of liver trouble. 

Chick Feed for Turkeys 

Now about the chick feed. It is composed of a number of differ- 
ent grains. Some of these grains are extremely difficult of digestion 
for turkeys. The chief of these are cracked corn, Kaffir corn, Egyp- 
tian corn, sorghum seed, millet, etc. I could scarcely believe this 
until I had ocular demonstration of it. Then I discovered that 
cracked corn did not commence to digest in the crop ; the gastric 
juice of the crop does not seem to have any influence on it. It 
passes through the crop and on through the proventriculus to the 
gizzard, arriving there hard and not in the least softened or di- 
gested, and there it commences to ferment, causing diarrhoea or 
else passing away without digesting. I am not scientific enough to 
know the reason for this nor why wheat should be softened in the 
crop and partly digested before reaching the gizzard, but I know 
that it is so. They told me in Kansas that corn soured on the tur- 
keys' stomachs, but it does not exactly sour, it ferments — and there 
is where the trouble comes in. 

Sour milk is sour, but this is from lactic acid, and lactic acid 
seems beneficial to turkeys, whilst the souring of grains, bran, 
cereals of any kind, or cornmeal is a ferment, and ferments are 
very injurious to fowls of all kinds, and especially so to turkeys. 

Mrs. Charles Jones, the best authority on turkeys in the United 
States, agrees with me about feeding turkeys. She writes: 



132 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

"A diet of part corn agrees with chickens, but I have never yet 
fed corn in any form to young turkeys but that sooner or later they 
would give up the unequal contest. A little neighbor girl that had 
a great deal of the care of turkeys said the least little bit of corn 
meal makes them die. She had learned this by watching them as 
she fed them." 

1100 Gleaning Wheat 

It was my privilege to visit a turkey ranch in the San Joaquin 
Valley some time ago and what I saw there made me wonder that 
there are so few large turkey ranches in California. 

There were over 1100 beautiful turkeys gleaning the wheat over 
many acres of stubble. These great turkeys had been hatched near 
the. barn in shed-like coops, under turkey hens. They were kept 
in the yard until about five or six weeks old, when they were driven 
out with their mothers upon the wheat stubble to rustle for their 
living, to pick up the wheat that would otherwise be lost. All these 
turkeys roosted in the open air and to this and the simple life, 
working for and finding their own living, may be attributed their 
healthiness. 

There are many beautiful valleys in California where turkeys 
may be grown to great advantage by the hundreds and even thou- 
sands, but even on small ranches a few may be kept. 

Turkey Lore 

With the coming of the fall our thoughts turn turkey ward and 
letters come to the writer telling of the fine success almost every 
one has had this year with their turkeys. However, some are also 
finding that the luck which has been theirs all the summer is now 
slipping away, and some of those want to know the reason why. 
Mrs- Chas. Jones, the turkey expert, explains this very plainly in 
one of her interesting talks. She says, "To understand any branch 
of poultry culture, one must know their nature and requirements. 
The turkey is the only bird or animal that has previously existed 
in a wild state that has been domesticated to the extent of being 
raised on farms from the Pacific to the Atlantic and from British 
Columbia to the Gulf of Mexico. They may be raised further 
north, but I have no authentic account of the fact. The prairie 
chicken has never been domesticated. Occasionally wild geese and 
ducks have been raised, but the turkey stands alone as a wild bird 
domesticated, and because people have not studied into their wild 
nature and what their diet consisted of in their wild state, they have 
failed to raise more than a small part that are hatched. 

When the turkeys roamed over the forests at the time this 
country was inhabited by Indians, very little corn was raised. A 
few beans constituted the grain crop, and as the Indians were too 
lazy to raise the corn themselves, and put the work on the squaws, 
who had the young braves in the form of papooses to pack around 
on their backs, and all the domestic duties to look after and keep 
their wigwams in order, they did not raise corn enough to glut the 
market and the turkeys had to look elsewhere for their food than 



TURKEYS AND HOW TO RAISE THEM 133 

to the corn cribs of the natives. The trees were their roofs to keep 
the young dry, the leaves beneath them made it dry for them to 
walk over, and the insects that had found their homes beneath the 
leaves made their food. 

Now we are confronted with a different problem. The forests 
are about gone, and during a wet season the turkeys must be kept 
near home for protection from the rain. When they have outgrown 
their baby feed, what shall we feed them? Corn as a steady diet is 
out of the question ; as they will eat large quantities, their livers 




Root's White Holland Turkeys on Range. 

will become congested from such highly concentrated food, and 
you will notice that one goes a little slow. That will be the only 
symptom of anything amiss ; it will walk a little slower, until it 
turns up its toes to the blue sky, a silent protest against letting 
them gorge themselves on the most highly concentrated food that 
grows. 

Wheat, where it can be had, is the best and safest grain that 
can be fed, but wheat here represents gold dollars and is too ex- 
pensive to feed. Oats has too many hulls. This year, on account 
of the high price of wheat, we could not get shorts. Shorts, mois- 
tened with water or milk, can be safely fed to turkeys. The tur- 
keys found that we had plenty of corn in the crib and they de- 
veloped a great liking for it and only wanted to loaf around the 
crib, until I lost two or three, and then I just turned them out and 
made them get their living in the fields, and they are all right again. 
Letting them live on corn is entirely against their way in their 
wild state, and they have to suffer the penalty It is like raising 
children on rich pie, cake and preserves. Their digestive organs 
get out of order, they become sick and often die. 

When turkeys find that they must stay out on the range and 
get their living they are soon content. By instinct or by personal 
investigation of the' different fields they soon find where the largest 



134 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

number of grasshoppers are to be found. They are methodical in 
their proceedings, getting off the roosts just at daylight and going 
to the nearest fields, picking all the insects they can find, then com- 
ing to the house for a drink and starting out for the larger range 
for the day. 

At first, when turned out on range, I feed them at night, as an 
inducement to come home early, but after the habit is established 
I think it better for their health not to feed them, as they come 
home with full crops and any more crowded into the digestive 
organs impairs them. 



MORE ABOUT TURKEYS 



There is no need for any sickness amongst turkeys whatever in 
California, if they are properly cared for, and I think eventually 
California will supply the Eastern States with their Thanksgiving 
and Christmas dinners, for they have there a disease among turkeys 
which is so serious that it is decimating, and, in some places, wip- 
ing out whole flocks of turkeys. The disease is called "Blackhead," 
as the head in some instances turns black or dark colored before 
or at the time of death. 

The Oregon Experiment Station has recently issued Bulletin 
No. 95, by E. F. Pernot, on Diseases of Turkeys. This bulletin con- 
tains information of very great importance to the turkey raisers of 
the state. It treats the subject of Blackhead, explaining the cause 
of this disease, the symptoms, and treatment. This bulletin, which 
may be obtained free on application to the Experiment Station, 
Corvallis, Oregon, should be in the hands of every turkey breeder 
in the state. 

In sections of the East, Blackhead has almost wiped out the 
turkeys, and the same thing is liable to happen in this state if 
proper measures are not taken to prevent it. 

I give here a brief summary of Prof. Pernot's bulletin : 

Symptoms — Diarrhoea is the most pronounced symptom. The 
discharges are frequent, thin, watery, and generally of a yellowish 
color. This, however, sometimes occurs from other intestinal dis- 
orders, and does not alone signify the presence of the malady. The 
next symptom is the drooping tail, followed by a drooping of the 
wings, after which death soon ensues. When the disease is at its 
height, the head assumes a dark color, hence the name, Blackhead. 
Young turkeys are much more susceptible or they may be more 
delicate and cannot withstand the invasion of the parasites so well. 
They begin by moping and bunching up as though they were cold, 
diarrhoea soon sets in, the tails droop, then the wings droop, and 
they go about uttering a pitiful "peep," after which they soon die. 
A blackening of the head does not always occur. 

It is only by careful post mortem that the true cause of the dis- 
ease may be determined. 



MORE ABOUT TURKEYS 135 

The Cause — The disease is caused by animal parasites, which 
can be detected only by the aid of a microscope. Because of their 
minuteness and growth in the mucous membranes of the digestive 
tract, they are easily carried by the excreta to food, which upon be- 
coming contaminated, transmits them to other fowls. This is the 
usual means of infection. 

Remedies — Food given to fowls should never come in contact 
with their droppings, as one bird with the disease will infect the 
feeding ground of others. Better sacrifice the bird at once than 
run the risk of spreading the infection to the whole flock. A sick 
bird should be removed from the flock and placed in close quarters, 
which may afterwards be disinfected, or the bird may be killed at 
once and then should be burned. Medical treatment is not very 
successful, owing to the difficulty of reaching the parasites at the 
seat of the disease ; yet treating them with some of the following 
remedies is well worth the trouble: Sulphur, 5 grains; sulphate of 
iron 1 grain; sulphate of quinine, 1 grain. Place this amount in 
capsules and administer one night and morning to each turkey for 
a week. If the bird does not respond to treatment, kill it at once 
without drawing blood, and then burn the carcass, disinfecting the 
coop. 

A solution of carbolic acid prepared by mixing five parts of the 
acid to 100 parts of water makes a good disinfecting solution, or 
chloride of lime, 5 ounces to 1 gallon of water, is good. Corrosive 
sublimate in the strength of 1 ounce to eight gallons of water, is a 
strong disinfectant, and may be used with a broom or spray to wet 
every part of the coop and floor, but it is poisonous and must be 
handled with great care. To disinfect the entire premises when the 
fowls are running at large is impracticable ; but lime should be used 
freely on the droppings beneath where they roost. When the dis- 
ease becomes seriously destructive, it is more than likely all the 
flock are affected, and it may be necessary to destroy all the re- 
maining birds and disinfect the premises as thoroughly as possible. 
In such cases it would be better to suspend the raising of turkeys 
for one year. 

Liver Complaint 

Personally I have only met once with a case in California which 
might be called Blackhead. I have seen many cases of common 
liver complaint, and by my directions others have succeeded in 
curing many of these. 

Dr. Salmon tells us that the seat of the disease called Blackhead 
is in the caeca. The caeca is sometimes called the blind bowel; 
it is a sort of "appendix" in the turkey, having no outlet. It is two 
lobes of bowel united by a ribbon of fat (the pancreas). In Black- 
head and also in some cases of liver complaint, an abscess forms in 
one or both caeca, but this can only be discovered after death, and 
I have only found it in a post mortem of one turkey. The fact is, I 
have been so very "lucky" in raising turkeys that now I rarely 
even see a sick turkey, and I have many letters from our readers 



136 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



telling me they have cured their turkeys by my directions, so I will 
repeat them again for the benefit of newcomers. 

First, liver complaint comes from wrong feeding, or overfeed- 
ing, which has overworked the liver ; secondly, Blackhead comes 
from a parasite ; thirdly, the symptoms of both diseases are almost 
exactly the same in the first stages. Dr. Cushman, in discussing 
this matter, decided that when the bright yellow diarrhoea comes 
on, showing liver trouble, the remedy is "something bitter and 
something sour." This is easy to remember- He also recommends 
no food but green food and says that turkeys have been known to 
cure themselves by living on acorns. 

My remedy is first a liver pill followed by quinine for a week, 
and sour milk and no food but onions and green alfalfa or grass, 
keeping this up until cured. 

I have a letter from a successful turkey raiser of Long Beach 
near Los Angeles. She writes : "I wish to tell you my experience 
with liver sick turkeys. I had a gobbler weighing eighteen or 
twenty pounds, and I made the mistake so many do of allowing 
turkeys and chickens to run together ; my experience is that tur- 
keys, especially, toms, will not stand such quantities of food that 
hens do- Well, he got very sick, so bad he was as light as a feather, 
and my cure, which never fails — was administered— a bottle of Ja- 
maica ginger and a bottle of liquozone were procured. I put him in 
a clean, large coop and he lay on a bed of straw for days, so weak 
he could not stand. The first day I gave him one teaspoonful of the 
ginger and one teaspoonful of the liquozone mixed and diluted until 
it was not too strong, giving two or three spoons every hour of the 
diluted. The next day giving it three times a day; after that twice 
a day. I did not allow him anything to eat, but of an evening gave 
him the smallest sized capsule of quinine. Kept that up until he 







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GlEndale, Cal. 



MORE ABOUT TURKEYS 137 

began to get good and hungry, then fed him a few grains of wheat, 
only about six grains, and a little speck of alfalfa. I have found that 
feed kills them every time when they are so sick. I never fail to 
cure the worst cases if I treat them like I tell you. Then if they 
hump up again and begin to get sick again, I give them a dose in 
the evening. The ginger warms them up and starts circulation, 
and the liquozone kills the germs." 

Liquozone is very acid, it tastes like sulphuric acid and water, 
and I have no doubt that my friend's cure is a good one. Remem- 
ber, Dr. Cushman says "something bitter and something sour," 
and if your turkeys get sick, try it immediately. 

The Fattening of Turkeys 

At this season many letters are coming to my desk either asking 
how to fatten turkeys or describing the ailments and often the 
death of the turkeys on which hopes had been based of a rich har- 
vest of dollars for Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

One writes : "I have followed the directions in your book 
with great success in raising turkeys, for I have not lost one, but 
some that I have cooped up to fatten won't eat and are not gaining 
in weight. Will you tell me how your fatten yours?" 

I will willingly tell you, but first always remember my maxim, 
"When in doubt, consult Nature." How do the turkeys acquire the 
fat that they require to keep them warm during the winter? 

All summer long and into the fall they have devoured grass- 
hoppers and insects but with the chilly fall weather these are be- 
coming scarce and the weed seeds are ripening, the nuts of all kinds 
are falling and the berries are at their best ; Nature has provided 
with a liberal hand for the necessary winter fattening. 

There is a flavor belonging to the meat of a range-fed or wild 
turkey that cannot be found in one raised in confinement, for neces- 
sarily the food cannot be so greatly varied, and the wild berries and 
nuts, the seeds of the pine cones, the beech nuts, hazel nuts, acorn, 
berries and spicy seeds as well as the buckwheat, barley, oats, 
wheat, corn, etc., impart a flavor not to be excelled, and the turkeys 
fed on these are fat enough for the most epicurean appetite- All 
that a free range turkey may need is a feed of corn at supper time. 

For turkeys on limited range, or on range that may be bare of 
insects, nuts and berries, we may have to assist Nature and sub- 
stitute for her fare the best thing that we can find and undoubtedly 
that is good hard corn a year old (so as to be thoroughly ripe and 
dry) for there is something in new corn which is apt to disagree 
with turkeys. 

If at the same time the turkeys can be in an olive yard, where 
they can pick up the few olives that are now falling or may help 
themselves to some on the branches, this with a little corn at night 
will put them in fine market condition and is all the fattening they 
will need. The same will be the case if they can be in a sweet 
apple orchard, they are very fond of sweet apples, which agree with 
the turkeys and are also fattening. The walnut orchards would be 



138 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

good, too, but are usually picked so clean that there is nothing 
left for turkeys. The acorns in some places are as fattening to 
turkeys as to hogs and the wild nuts do not ever seem to disagree 
with the turkey's liver or digestion. 

Turkeys that have not the advantage of freedom or the wild nuts 
and spicy berries can be successfully fattened in a yard. The way 
I feed is I take 2 parts of corn, and 1 part of barley, soak over night, 
and in the morning put on the stove to boil, let it cook slowly until 
it begins to soften, then take up and set aside covered till sup- 
per time, when it will be cool enough to feed. Give this three times 
a day as much as the turkeys will eat up in about fifteen minutes, 
then remove till next meal time. I add a chopped onion at supper 
time, as that is a stimulant to liver and digestion. Fresh water 
must be kept before them. 

One year I had most excellent success in fattening turkeys by 
feeding them the same food as for fattening chickens, that is, equal 
parts of heavy bran, corn meal and oatmeal (rolled breakfast oats), 
mixed with milk or with buttermilk, three times a day. 

Boiling the corn removes whatever it is in the new corn that 
disagrees with the turkeys, scalding the corn meal has the same ef- 
fect. Adding a little ground charcoal will assist in the fattening 
and prevent indigestion. I have known it to materially increase 
the weight by enabling the turkeys to eat more or digest more food. 

One thing in fattening turkeys, begin gradually by feeding the 
fattening food only once a day, and that preferably at the evening 
meal. 

I only fatten turkeys from two or three weeks. The gain in 
weight depends upon the condition, size and age of the turkey, 
when commencing to feed- It will vary from one to, in rare cases, 
as much as six pounds. This last is claimed by feeders in Europe, 
where the cramming machine is used. 

Do not fatten the turkeys you intend to use as breeders, for the 
fat weakens the organs of reproduction in both sexes and the off- 
spring will be weak and small or the eggs infertile. This I have 
found almost invariably to be the case in many instances where 
people have had me investigate the cause of eggs not hatching. 

One word about turkeys getting sick when being fed for mar- 
ket. It shows a lack in the constitution, and is often the result of 
a slight attack of liver trouble, which they seem to get over, in their 
early life. The best thing would be to turn them out on the range 
again, or to doctor them up by giving them a dose of Epsom salts 
and then following it with ten drops of tincture of Nux Vomica in 
a pint of water, allowing no other drinking water. Then give 
freely of chopped onion and bran mixed, as well as the fattening 
food, and eat them as quickly as possible. Do not breed from these 
turkeys, as, although they may be perfectly well, they will not 
breed a vigorous constitution into their offspring. 

Turkeys should be kept at least twelve hours without food be- 
fore killing. They may have water, but no food. This is to empty 
crop, gizzard and bowels, and prevent the food which would remain 
there from souring and giving the whole carcass a bad flavor. 



DUCKS AND THEIR VARIETIES 



In the springtime of the year in the East the big duck. ranches 
hatch ducks by the hundreds of thousands, but in California, or 
at least in the neighborhood of Los Angeles, there are not such 
large ranches, and ducks do not seem as popular. Probably some 
farmers have had a few in their yard at some time, just to give 
them a trial, and have found them a continual nuisance, as they 
greedily eat the whole allowance of food from expectant chickens 
and dabble in their drinking vessels, so they have to be continuall} 
cleaned and replenished, and with great injustice to the ducks, they 
have let this prejudice them, where if they had kept the ducks 
separate, they would have found them easier to raise than chickens. 

Ducks grow faster and are ready for the market earlier than 
chickens; they are not troubled by the diseases of hens, neither do 




"Wonder" Indian Runner Ducks. From 283 Egg Strain Imported From New 
Zealand by Mrs. M. E. Peaw, Fruitvale, Cae. 

they have lice, except if raised under a hen when very young, be- 
fore the feathers grow, the gray head-lice may get on their heads, 
crawl into their ears and kill them, but this is before they feather 
o'ut. Mosquitoes, which are very troublesome in some places to the 
chickens, causing great mortality, never trouble ducks, neither do 
fleas or ticks. I think the reason for their immunity from vermin 
is that their feathers are very oily and thick and the down under the 
feathers is an extra protection. Hens require a dust bath, while 
ducks require a water bath to keep them clean and healthy. 

Most of the popular varieties of ducks can be raised and bred 
without water to swim in, but on the very large duck ranches a 
supply of running water, so that they may have fresh water to drink 
and a bathing place for the breeding ducks, is a great advantage. 

Ducks should be kept entirely away from chickens and turkeys, 
as they pollute water so badly it makes the other fowls sick. I 



140 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

found on my small ranch where there was only water piped in, 
after trying various plans for watering the ducks, an easy and con- 
venient way. I had a barrel sawed in two, two-thirds and one- 
third. I knocked the head out of the larger end and buried that 
part, making it deep enough so the top of the barrel was just below 
the ground ; any box with no bottom would do as well. The one- 
third of the barrel had a bunghole in the bottom. This one-third 
barrel I placed over the sunken one. I had a broom handle which 
fitted into the bunghole and every day I let the dirty water run 
through it into the bottomless barrel and it soaked away. In this 
manner I gave my ducks fresh water and a clean bath every day. 
I found if I sawed the barrel exactly in half, it made the top part 
deeper than I wanted, and the bottom not deep enough. 




Goodacre's Prize White Indian Runner Ducks. 

The Varieties 

I have successfully bred the following most popular breeds of 
ducks and think a slight review of them may be interesting and 
helpful to beginners : The Aylesbury, Pekin, Indian Runner, Buff 
Orpington Duck and the Muscovy. 

The Aylesbury 
The Aylesbury, called after a town in Buckingham, England, are 
about a pound heavier than the Pekin. The standard weights be- 
ing, drake, 9 lbs.; duck, 8 lbs.; young drake, 8 lbs.; young duck, 7 
lbs. Their color is pure white, with pinkish-white beak and shanks. 
They are extremely popular in England and are hardy and vigorous. 
There are not many breeders of them in this country, but an Eng- 
lishman, Mr. V- G. Huntley of Petaluma, who has imported some 
exceedingly fine Aylesbury ducks from England, says he has a 
large demand for them, as they are a rarity in this country. He 
considers their flesh better than that of any other variety of ducks. 
In plumage the Aylesbury are a pure spotless white, with hard, 



DUCKS AND THEIR VARIETIES 



141 




Aylesbury Drake. 

close feathers that glisten in the sunlight like satin. The advan- 
tages claimed for this breed are the easiness with which it is accli- 
mated, its early maturing, its great hardiness, its large size, being 
heavier than any except the Rouen, its great prolificacy and its 
beauty. 

The Pekin 
The Pekin is undoubtedly the most popular breed on the large 
duck ranches in the East, where thousands of them are fattened and 
turned off every season. This breed is variously called the Imperial 
Pekin and the Mammoth Pekin and Rankin's Pekin. It was brought 
to this country from China in the early seventies and immediate- 
ly took the first place as the most prolific and rapidly growing 



X 



s. 





Mammoth Pekin Drake. Reich art's Duck Farm, San Francisco. 



142 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

duck on the market. In shape and carriage the Pekin has a dis- 
tinct type of its own, which by some is described as resembling an 
Indian canoe, from the keel-like shape and the turned-up tail. 
Though Pekin ducks may not merit all that is claimed for them by 
enthusiastic breeders, it is certain that the duck business could 
not have attained its present proportion without the Pekin duck, 
and that as a market duck this breed takes the lead. They are 
hardy, quick growers, thrive in close confinement, and are ready 
to market at ten weeks of age. The plumage is soft, more downy 
than that of other varieties and is of a creamy white in color. The 
beak is of a deep orange yellow, and, according to Standard, should 
be free from black marks. The shanks and toes are reddish orange 
color. 

All ducks are of a timid disposition, and the Pekin more so than 
those of other breeds; in fact, they will injure themselves so badly 
if frightened by cat, dog or a stranger, or by being caught up, that 
they may have to be killed. A fright, if not fatal, will take off 
several days' growth of the young, and stop the laying of the adult 
ducks. 

The Indian Runner 

Many years ago Indian Runners were brought from India to 
England by a sea captain, hence the name "Indian," while the "Run- 
ners" came from their great agility. They do not waddle like other 
ducks, but run more like a plover, and are very quick in their move- 
ments. In England their good qualities quickly captivated the 
thrifty farmers. Individual ducks there have made a record of 225 
eggs per annum. Here in California I had ten ducks which laid 
2331 eggs in one year. I think the climate of California more nearly 
resembles that of their native land, and their laying is never 
checked by cold or snow, so that here they lay better than in Eng- 
land or the Eastern States. In India they were bred for their lay- 
ing and table qualities, no attention being paid to the color of their 
plumage ; all the Indians cared for was the eggs, and they laid 
eggs galore. English breeders claim that eight-year-old ducks of 
this breed will lay as well as yearlings, and on this account, and 
their capacity for foraging, they have become very popular in Eng- 
land and Australia. 

While the weight of the matured Pekin is greater than that of 
the Indian Runner, there is more meat in proportion to their weight 
in the Runners on account of the smallness of the bones; the meat 
is also of a much finer quality, finely grained and juicy and re- 
sembling in flavor the much extolled canvas-back duck. The eggs 
of the Indian Runner are an ivory white in color, greatly resembling 
Minorca eggs, very delicate in taste, and in England their eggs are 
in great demand in the tuberculosis sanitariums on account of their 
delicate flavor, richness and nutritive value, and absolute freedom 
from tuberculosis taint, and there is a higher price paid for them 
than the hen's eggs. 

The standard color of the Indian Runners in this country is fawn 



DUCKS AND THEIR VARIETIES 143 

and white and pure white. In England they also have the black and 
white, the brown and white and the pure white. 

The pure white ducks are meeting with great favor in this coun- 
try and are becoming very popular and are said to be as good lay- 
ers as the fawn and white. 

The Rouen 

The Rouen duck, so named for a city in Normandy, where they 
are supposed to have originated, are still bred there in large num- 
bers. The Rouen duck is a fine market bird, but does not mature 
as early as the Pekin or Aylesbury. It is easily fattened, hardy and 
quiet in disposition and not as nervous as the Pekin. 

The Rouen drake is a magnificently colored bird. Neck and head 
are iridescent green, breast wine color and the lower part of the 
body delicate steel gray, penciled with very fine black lines. About 
June a remarkable change takes place in the drake. He begins to 
lose his lustrous feathers, those of the neck dropping out, being re- 
placed by feathers of a russet brown. The magnificently colored 
drake is clothed in sober hues for the summer. In October he 
again resumes his gorgeous raiment. 

The Buff Orpington 

Buff Orpington ducks are a breed of Mr. William Cook's mak- 
ing. He named them as he did the Orpington hens, after his own 
place in Kent, England. The color of the Buff Orpingtons is a soft 
shade of buff, the drakes having rich brown heads. The Buff Or- 
pington has a good deal of the Indian Runner blood in it, and from 
this source its laying qualities are gathered. Mr. Cook claims they 
are better layers than any other of the duck family. Many of them 
lay a beautiful green egg, although a greenish-white is the usual 
color. These ducks weigh a pound a half more than the Indian 
Runner, are large and more plump birds, maturing early, and one 
of the best market birds. 

The Muscovy 

The Muscovy duck is not largely bred in this country. They 
are not like any other ducks and do not interbreed with others. 
It is a native of South America, where it may still be found in its 
wild state. It comes in two varieties, white and black and white. 
The males are much larger than the females. I had one weighing 
fourteen pounds. Both sexes have caruncles at the base of the 
beak; these become larger every year, giving them a vulture-like 
appearance. Muscovy ducks are rather awkward in the water, pre- 
ferring to live on the land. They are pugnacious and ill-tempered, 
and, although they have web feet, they have very sharp claws that 
can, and do, scratch in a most unpleasant way. They are strong 
on the wing, flying easily over the barn, and they like to perch on 
the roof. They are good setters, and their eggs take thirty-five 
days to incubate. 



144 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

Hatching and Brooding 

The first thing the amateur needs is first-class breeding stock or 
eggs of the same. There is sure to be sad loss among young duck- 
lings, bred from debilitated stock. Good stock should be secured 
to start with, and when properly fed and cared for, there need be no 
fear of loss. 

A good incubator, carefully operated without variation of tem- 
perature, should receive the eggs. They take twenty-eight days to 
hatch. Duck eggs will hatch well in any of the standard incu- 
bators; they require more airing than do the eggs of the hen, and I 
have found that by sprinkling them every other day, after the first 
week, I was sure of a good hatch. Sprinkle the eggs, or moisten 
them thoroughly, with warm water, when they are out of the ma- 
chine, and do not put the water in the incubator. I found this much 
the best plan. I think wetting the shell of the egg helps to soften 
it and make it more brittle, enabling the duck to break its way out 
easily. I also do this when hatching duck eggs under hens. 

A brooder adapted to chicks will answer equally well for ducks. 
The little fellows should be at least thirty-six hours old before 
taken from the incubator and placed in the brooder, which should 
be previously prepared for them by placing a board about ten inches 
wide a few inches from the front of the brooder forming a very 
small yard with a little water fountain so arranged that they can 
get their bills in but not their bodies. The birds should be con- 
fined to this small space in front of the brooder for the first day, 
or until they have learned the way into the hover. Bed the little 
fellows with hay, chaff or cut straw. Keep the pens clean, both out- 
side and in. The welfare of the ducklings depends upon this. Be 
sure to give them shade. 

Mr. James Rankin has been called the father of the duck indus- 
try in America. He and a number of others in the East are now 
hatching by the thousands and tens of thousands. He writes : 
"With us it is the surest crop we can grow; it makes the best 
returns of any crop on the farm." 

As he is a noted expert in the business I cannot do better than 
give his directions for raising the ducks and his formulas for feed- 
ing at the different ages. I have tried them myself and do not 
think they can be improved upon. 

Feeding 

The first food should consist of bread or cracker crumbs slightly 
moistened and about 10 per cent of hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, 
shell and all ; mix in this food five per cent of coarse sand. Do not 
place grit by them and expect them to eat it, but mix the sand in 
their food and so compel them to eat it as it is the most essential 
part of the whole thing. 

Scatter the food on a board, place the young ducklings on it and 
they will be busily eating it within ten minutes. One hundred to 
one hundred and fifty ducks can be put in one brooder six feet long. 
When two or three weeks old, not more than seveny-five should be 



DUCKS AND THEIR VARIETIES 145 

kept in one brooder. The heat under the hover should be kept at 
about 90 degrees for the first day or two, when it should be grad- 
ually reduced as the ducks grow older. In the climate of Southern 
California, ducklings rarely require brooder heat more than two 
weeks. 

The second day rolled oats and bran can be added to the food ; 
a little finely cut clover, lettuce or cabbage can now be safely used! 
At ten days feed one-fourth corn meal, the rest wheat bran with a 
little rolled oats mixed in, not forgetting the grit, about ten per cent 
of ground beef scraps, and the same of green food. At six weeks 
Quaker oats, grit and ten per cent beef scraps; at eight weeks old 
feed equal parts of bran and corn meal with a little Quaker oats, 
grit and beef scraps, but no green food. 

The birds should be ready for the market at ten weeks old. 
They should be fed four times a day until six weeks old, then three 
times is sufficient. They should be watered only when fed until 
six weeks old, then they should be watered between meals also. 
Feed at each meal all they will eat up clean, then take the remain- 
der away ; keep the pens dry and clean and be sure you give them 
shade. 

For breeding birds, old and young, during the summer and fall, 
when they are not laying— feed three parts wheat bran, one part 
Quaker oats feed, one part corn meal, five per cent beef scraps 
ground fine, and five per cent coarse sand, and all the green feed 
they will eat in the shape of corn fodder cut fine, clover, or oat 
fodder, or alfalfa. Feed this mixture twice a day, all they will eat. 

For laying birds — equal parts of wheat bran and corn meal, 
twenty per cent of Quaker oat feed, ten per cent of boiled turnips 
or potatoes, fifteen per cent of clover rowen, alfalfa, green rye or 
refuse cabbage chopped fine and five per cent of grit. Feed twice 
a day all they will eat, with a lunch of corn and oats at noon ; keep 
grit and crushed oyster shells before them all the time. 

Mr. Rankin adds : 'T wish to emphasize several points. Do not 
forget the grit, it is absolutely essential. Never feed more than a 
little bird will eat up clean. Keep them a little hungry. See that 
the pens and yards are sweet and clean, for though ducklings may 
stand more neglect than chicks, remember that they will not thrive 
in filth. If anyone fails in the duck business, it must be through 
his own incompetency and neglect." 

Mr. Rankin has his yards swept twice a week. These sweep- 
ings amount to many tons each season, and are spread evenly over 
his grass farm, giving enormous crops of good hay, so that where, 
twenty years ago, only six tons of hay were cut, now the crop is 
125 tons. 

On Long Island the method of feeding is as follows : 

From the time of hatching until seven days old, feed equal 
parts by measure of corn meal, wheat bran and No. 2 grade flour. 
This grade of flour is sometimes called "red dog" flour- To this add 
10 per cent of the bulk of coarse sand. Mix with water to a crum- 
bly mass and feed four times a day. 



146 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

From seven to 56 days feed equal parts by measure of corn meal, 
wheat bran and No. 2 flour ; 10 per cent of this bulk of beef scrap ; 
10 per cent of coarse sand and about 12 per cent of green stuff. 
Mix and feed as before. From 56 to 70 days feed 2 parts by measure 
of corn meal, 1 part wheat bran, 1 part No. 2 grade flour; 10 per 
cent of this bulk beef scrap; 12 per cent green stuff. Mix and feed 
as before. 

It should be remembered that both green stuff and beef scrap 
are absolutely necessary to the best growth of ducklings, and no 
one should undertake to raise them without feeding both, as ducks 
deprived of them never make as good growth as those which are 
supplied with them. Mix the feed fresh for every day in a trough, 
and if the weather is hot, mix twice a day. Keep the mixing 
troughs clean and sweet. Feed in troughs, giving at each feed as 
much as will be eaten clean before the ducks stop eating, and no 
more. A little observation will show how much to feed. 

Ducks that are to be reserved for breeders should not be forced 
as rapidly as those to be sold in market. While the rations for 
breeding ducks should be rich in protein, they should not be such 
as to produce a surplus of fat. In raising breeding ducks the ob- 
ject is to secure large size, which needs a large frame, thick muscles 
and great vitality. For this reason less corn meal is fed. An ex- 
cellent ration for ducks reserved for breeders : 

Equal parts by measure of corn meal, wheat bran and green 
stuff, with 5 per cent of beef scrap and 5 per cent coarse sand or 
grit- 
Ducks are good grasshopper catchers and industrious insect 
hunters, but they should be given beef scrap regularly, even when 
they have their liberty. 

Ducks are profitable on the farm, as they are good layers, make 
weight economically and are always in demand in every market. 
Such a thing as overstocking the market with ducks has not yet 
occurred, and many farmers might keep a small breeding flock and 
raise 100 or more ducks every year to advantage. 

We cannot close the chapter on duck feeding without drawing 
attention to several important points. 

The first is, that with ducks especially, all food should be given 
on boards or troughs, at any rate not thrown on the ground, or it 
will become very foul. When the trough or board is not in use it 
should be stood on end alongside of the fence, otherwise the birds 
will get it dirty. 

Fresh water must be provided for ducks, deep enough to im- 
merse their nostrils, and the vessel must be large enough so that 
the supply will not run out. Ducks must have water always before 
them ; to go without even for a few hours is worse to them than 
missing a meal. One will never make a success with ducks with- 
out provision for a constant supply of water. 

Another matter that must be attended to is the supply of grit 
or coarse sand and crushed oyster or clam shells. One has only 



DUCKS AND THEIR VARIETIES 147 

to experience the keen stoppage of eggs that follows the running 
out of the grit supply to realize its vital importance. 

A feeding trough, a good sized water vessel, and a box of grit 
are about all the furniture necessary for the duck pen. 

Breeding Ducks 

In mating your breeding pens, special attention should be paid 
to the male. He is in theory and in fact half the pen. Every young 
duck reared will be half his blood and will to a great extent take 
after him. Where there is a faulty female, only her own progeny 
will be affected, with the male it is entirely different, consequently 
the male should be the best in health and vitality that you can get. 
You can afford to pay a good price for him if he makes every duck- 
ling worth only a few cents more than the ordinary ducks- You 
will find that it will pay to use young drakes (from eight to ten 
months of age), whilst the age of the ducks (especially Indian 
Runners) does not so much matter. The fertility is always better 
with a young male, especially early in the season. 

One great cause of infertility is overfatness of the breeding 
stock. A bird to lay well must be in good condition but not overfat. 
There may be said to be two kinds of fatness, one we might call soft 
and the other hard fat. When a duck has been fed a too carbon- 
aceous ration it is either passed away as waste or is stored up in 
the body as hard yellow fat, which may largely interfere with the 
sexual organs which become displaced or obstructed, with the re- 
sult of infertile eggs. The birds are too fat, that is they have had 
too much fattening food whilst they may be almost starving for ni- 
trogenous food, which will if used in conjunction with the fat be 
manufactured into eggs. Improper feeding, not overfeeding, which 
is practically impossible if the food is of the right quality, or as we 
call it "properly balanced," means not only a loss of eggs but a 
loss of fertility. 

When the ration is too fattening it will often be noticed that 
the eggs are misshapen or are too small or too large. 

Lack of exercise is also a cause of infertility, and the best way 
of rectifying this is either to give the ducks a good grass run, or a 
pond in which to disport themselves for at least a portion of the 
day. 

The proper number of ducks to be mated to one drake vanes 
according to the season and the breed. From three to six ducks for 
the Pekins and from eight to ten or twelve Indian Runners has 
been found the best number. Several drakes can be kept in the 
same flock, as they do not quarrel and fight as do the chickens. It 
pays best to sell off the males at the end of the breeding season, 
except in the case of special show specimens. 

In hatching duck eggs we have to rely either upon a good incu- 
bator or upon hens or Muscovy ducks, for the domesticated duck 
does not go broody, and the rare specimens that do want to sit 
cannot be relied upon. A good incubator, operated without varia- 
tion of temperature, is most generally used in this country. Duck 



148 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

eggs take twenty-eight days to hatch. They require more airing 
and cooling than the chicken eggs, and I have found it best to 
sprinkle the eggs or moisten them thoroughly with warm water 
and not to put water into the machine ; I also do this when hatching 
with hens. By this plan I did not have ducks drowned in the shell 
which is usually due to having the water in the incubator and not 
airing the eggs enough. 

The proper airing depends greatly upon the weather, so no set 
rule can be given, but I generally aired them the first week, after 
the first four days, for ten minutes ; the next week for fifteen min- 
utes a day, and after that for twenty minutes, whilst the last week 
up to the twenty-fifth day I aired them for a full half hour. It de- 
pends upon the heat of the weather. I have had the eggs left out 
accidentally for three or four hours and had a good hatch. I think 
that the principal cause of poor hatches is improper care and feed- 
ing of the breeders. Breeding ducks should have an abundance 
of green food daily. 

Muscovy ducks are most excellent incubators. They are used 
as incubators both in France and especially in Australia. In these 
and possibly in other countries they hatch turkey eggs, duck eggs 
and even chicken eggs. In some places in Australia five hundred 
Muscovys are kept for sitting on duck eggs, as it has been found 
that they hatch out a much larger per cent of eggs and with com- 
paratively little trouble to their owners than either hens or incu- 
bators. 

Muscovy duck eggs take thirty-five days to hatch, consequently 
they make very patient and steady sitters on eggs and will hatch 
duck, turkey or goose eggs without difficulty. In using Mus- 
covys you will probably need one Muscovy duck on an average to 
every thirty youngsters you wish to raise. Actually, they will hatch 
and raise a great many more, but it is as well to give a low esti- 
mate. The Muscovys on this coast only need an open shed with 
straw ; you can keep the flock together. They will not interfere, 
but each female will build her own nest. They make their nests 
on the ground by hollowing out a hole with their bodies and lining 
it with straw. When the ducks are about to sit, they pull feathers 
from their own breast and with these line the top of the nest, so 
that one may always know when a Muscovy duck is ready to sit. 
A Muscovy duck will cover from twenty to twenty-five duck eggs 
and will brood from forty to fifty little ducklings. When the Mus- 
covy duck leaves her nest to eat, which she will once or twice a day, 
she covers up the eggs with the feathers and down. Towards the 
end of the hatch she will often stay off the nest a full hour without 
injury to the eggs- 
Muscovy ducks make excellent mothers, or you may say brood- 
ers for turkeys, ducks or chickens, on account of their large wings 
and very warm bodies. 



SOMETHING ABOUT GEESE 



Geese are, of all fowls, easiest to raise where grass is abundant, 
for they are grazing animals. Among the various breeds raised in 
this country the Toulouse is the most profitable goose to raise. It 
grows the largest, matures the quickest and is not so much of a 
rambler or flyer as the other varieties, and as it does not take so 
readily to water it grows more rapidly and accumulates flesh faster 
than other varieties, and is not so noisy. 

There seems to be a steady demand for the beautiful large, gray 
Toulouse variety. They deserve every word of praise given them. 
They have been known to live to a great old age. I have had a 
friend in England who had a goose that had been more than a 
hundred years in the same family, and even at that age produced 
as many fertile eggs as any in the flock. In fact, that goose had 
more broods each year than any other goose in the neighborhood. 

There are many points about raising geese that can be learned 
only by experience and a little practice is worth a world of theory. 
Intelligent and systematic breeding is sure to bring both pleasure 
and profit to the breeder. 

Hatching and Feeding 

For hatching goose eggs, if setting hens are used, keep them 
free from lice by dusting with insect powder every week, and put 
from four to six goose eggs under every hen. After eight days 
test-out, leaving four fertile eggs under every hen to hatch. Goose 
eggs should be sprinkled every fourth day after the twelfth, with 
warm water. In hot, dry weather, float them in water for one and 
a half to two and a half minutes. If incubators are used, float al- 
ways. At the last float hold the pip up so as not to drown the gos- 
ling inside the egg. If the gosling remains and dries in the shell, 
it should be helped out. Break away a little of the shell, and if the 
lining does not bleed the gosling is ready to come out. Wring out 
a cloth in water as hot as you can bear your hands in, wrap the egg 
in the cloth and leave for a few minutes. You will find the gosling 
will come out bright and clean. Keep the goslings warm until they 
are dry and can run around. When they are twenty-four hours old 
put them in a box, the bottom covered with sand, and feed them 
often with a crumbly mash of one-third corn meal, two-thirds bran 
and a pinch of sand. 

Goslings are Healthy 

No other young in the whole tribe of domestic poultry is so up- 
to-date and healthy as a young gosling. Given a tender grass plot 
and a bit of warmth, it goes merrily on its way, nipping a living 
and asking favors of no one. They eat daintily, preferring grass 
to all other foods. With their chatter they are ready to meet you, 
take a few mouthfuls of food, and, with the same old tune, they 
lazily saunter away in search of grass and more rest. 

Geese are turned out to pasture just the same as cattle, their 
bills having serrated edges which enable them to graze. They 



150 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

never need a warm house. An open corral is much better in Cali- 
fornia for them and they are not given to disease. Goslings, how- 
ever, should be provided with shade, as they suffer from heat, get- 
ting a species of blind-staggers or sunstroke if exposed to the sun. 

One of the best items of profit to be derived from a flock of Tou- 
louse geese is the feathers, which are clear gain, costing nothing but 
the trouble to pick them. Watch them in the fall and spring, twice 
a year, when they begin to pull out the feathers and throw them 
away. I know then they are ready to pick. I think it is cruel to 
pick at any other time- Make cheesecloth sacks which will hold 
two pounds of feathers. Make them large, as the feathers will cure 
better if they are not packed together. Hang the sacks on a clothes- 
line every sunny day for about two weeks, then keep them in a well- 
aired room. Women living in the city will be your best custom- 
ers, providing you let them know you have good feathers for sale. 
One can get from 75 cents to $1.00 per pound, and can never supply 
the demand. The breeders should not be picked when they are 
laying. 

The Varieties 

There are a number of varieties of geese, but the most profitable 
are the Toulouse, the Embden, and the China. Of the latter there 
are two kinds, the brown and the white. The color of the Tou- 
louse is gray and white and the Embden is white. The Toulouse 
and the Embden are the larger. A pair of Toulouse have been 
known to weigh 59^4 pounds, and an Embden pair has tipped the 
beam at 57 pounds. They are great layers of large eggs, of which 
they will lay thirty to forty a year, although I know a woman who 
has a goose that laid 70 eggs without wanting to sit. 

In mating, allow two geese to one gander, though they generally 
pair off and the gander will stay with his actual mate nearly all the 
time. The gander is the protector of the goose, especially in breed- 
ing time. He will defend her and her nest fearlessly. 

Hens as Mothers 

It is a good plan to put goose eggs under a hen. It takes thirty- 
one days to hatch them. Then you want to be on the watch- The 
hen will sit all right, but when the young ones break the shell and 
the hen sees a queer, green little creature, with a long, wide bill 
saluting her, she takes it for a freak of nature, and off comes its 
head. Not many hens will claim the young geese or hover them ; 
so take the goslings away as they hatch and try the hens, giving 
the goslings to a good, slow, gentle hen. As soon as she takes them 
without any fuss there is no danger. If the weather is nice they 
should be turned out in a small enclosure, which can be changed 
every day or so. Use boards six feet long and twelve inches wide. 
After a week let them go, and their foster mother's trouble begins. 
The little goslings do not care for her calling; they are hustling 
for every spear of grass and she has to hunt them. Her business 
is to keep them warm at night and warm them in the daytime if> 
they get chilled. Never allow goslings to get to water to swim 



SOMETHING ABOUT GEESE 



151 



until they are fully feathered, and then only let those go that you 
wish to keep for breeders. Many of them will do as well if they 
never go swimming. During this period you must keep the old 
geese away, as they will fight the hen and molest the young. 

You cannot raise geese as you do chickens and ducks, on a city 
lot. They must have pasture. It is a wrong belief that geese or 
their droppings will kill grass or pasture. If you have a large flock 
of geese and a small pasture they will clean it up; that is, they 
will eat the grass as fast as it sprouts and give it no chance to 
grow, just as a cow on a city lot will soon have only bare ground 
and you will have to tie her in the road. If you do the same with 
geese you would find the grass growing again the same as before. 
Geese are easier to raise than any other young fowls. 

Muscovy ducks make excellent sitters for goose eggs- 




.Cat and Hawk-proof Coop for Chicks and Ducklings. 



PHEASANTS. 



It takes time, patience and energy to raise pheasants success- 
fully. Any successful poultry raiser can succeed with them, al- 
though they are not as easy to raise as chickens, but by following 
as closely as possible to Nature's way we can have good success. 
Pheasants are hardy, strong, very prolific and when young are quite 
tame. Pheasants do not hatch their own eggs in captivity; when 
wild they make excellent mothers, but captivity destroys the hatch- 
ing instinct except to a very limited degree. 

The price of the pheasants has a good deal to do with the choice 
of a breed. The Chinese, English and Golden are the most in de- 
mand. These are the heaviest egg producers. The Silver, Reeves, 
Amhersts and Swinhoes are close followers. The Chinese pheasant 
is usually the cheapest. The Golden is somewhat smaller than the 
Chinese, is tamer and more brilliantly marked. The English pheas- 
ant is very similar to the Chinese, but rather larger, has a less con- 
spicuous white collar and lays a larger egg. The English and Chi- 
nese bring about the same price. The other pheasants being less 
hardy and having a far less egg production bring higher prices. 

The building of the pens for pheasants should be carefully done. 
One-inch mesh should be used at the bottom of the fence for two 
or three feet up. Although some people prefer boards two feet 
high at the ground, this is a good idea, as it prevents fighting be- 
tween the different pens, also it keeps the young pheasants from 
wandering. 

The pheasant pens should be located in as dry a location as 
possible, for the birds love their sun and dust baths. There should 
also be trees or bushes in the pens, where they can shelter from the 
sun and also hide away from people. A brush heap is their de- 
light, and they will hide their nest in it in preference to elsewhere. 
The eggs should be gathered twice a day. They lay about twenty 
eggs at a clutch and then rest a little, in captivity. 

The pens should be covered over with two-inch chicken wire, 
as pheasants fly like wild birds, although where they are kept for 
pets only the outer long pinion or flight feathers of one wing may 
be cut to prevent an extended flight. Care must be used not to 
cut the inner feathers of the wing, as these protect the bird's lungs. 
Pheasants are great runners and enjoy running about and slinking 
through the brush of their pens. The English and Chinese pheas- 
ants are polygamous, the same as chickens, and the male will even 
mate with wild grouse or with barn fowls. 

The natural food of the young pheasant is insects of all kinds, 
larvae of grubs, worms and especially ants' eggs, as well as small 
seeds. In raising the little ones, use the same food as for the lit- 
tle turkeys at first, or, in other words, imitate the food that Nature 
provides for them. Be sure to give them chopped-up lettuce and 
onion, and a little later on the chick feed, but with a very small 
amount of corn in it, for corn does not agree with them. Corn is 
not their natural food. 



PHEASANTS— GUINEA FOWLS 153 

After pheasants are three months old the)' are very hardy, and 
at five months are in their full plumage. The proper food for grown 
birds is wheat, heavy oats, buckwheat, clover, alfalfa and grass. 
They also dearly love raw apple, potato, cabbage, carrot and let- 
tuce. Their preference, however, is flies, grubs, bugs and worms. 
They need plenty of good, clean, fresh water. 

Anyone wishing to go into the pheasant business should write 
to the director of documents, Agricultural Dept., Washington, D. C, 
and get the Bulletin on the "Raising of Pheasants in the United 
States," also the book on pheasants by "Dillaway" at the Dillaway 
Pheas^antries, Everett, Washington. 



GUINEA FOWLS 



Guinea fowls are becoming popular in this country and will be 
more so every year, as their excellent table qualities are more 
known. 

Guineas are used to replace pheasants at banquets and at the 
closed season. They are sometimes passed off as grouse or pheas- 
ants, although at some of the large restaurants they are often given 
their own name on the bill of fare. 

They lay a small egg, brown in color, with dots or little spots 
of darker brown, and quite pointed at one end. The eggs are con- 
sidered a great delicacy in Europe, for they are very rich in the 
color of the yolk. The guinea hen lays a great number of eggs, 
but she is wild and hides her nest and two or three eggs should be 
left in the nest as nest. eggs. I have kept guineas nearly all my 
life, and after being well acquainted with their habits I never touch 
the eggs in the nest with my hand, as they so dislike the smell of 
a human hand that they will desert the nest and it is often a trou- 
ble to find them. I always use an iron spoon to collect the eggs. 

The male and female guinea are identical in color and can only 
be distinguished by the wattles of the male being a little larger and 
the "song" different. The female has a harsh voice, which calls 
"come back," "come back," whilst the male only seems to say "quit," 
"quit." This is when they both are comfortable and happy, but let 
a hawk appear on the scene and the scream of anger, definance or 
warning will cause every chicken, turkey or guinea on the place to 
run to shelter. Guineas are as good as a watch dog, night or day 
they will give notice if a stranger comes on the place. I have had 
male guineas that would fly into the air to meet a hawk and give 

fight. . 

Guineas can be hatched under common hens, and, indeed, that 
is the best way to start with them, as they are very "conservative" 



1S4 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



in their habits. They can be raised exactly as chickens, with one 
exception : they need food as soon as ever they are hatched. The 
eggs take 28 days to incubate and the little ones are exceedingly 
wild and will run away and get lost as soon as they are hatched 
if not closely watched. They should be confined in a tight pen, 
with sides at least fifteen inches high until they have learnt to fol- 
low the mother hen, which will be in a few days. The guineas soon 
learn to love their mother and will never leave her, in fact they will 
stay with her and roost with her even after they are laying eggs 
and are a year old. They are very peculiar in another thing, what 
one guinea does they will all do. If one flies over the fence, all will 
follow, a short of follow my leader game is going on all the time. 
The mother hen is followed by the young even after she begins to 
lay they will all go on the nest with her, no matter how she may 
peck them. I have had them effectually break up a sitting hen. 
They will often, if brought up with or by hens, lay in the same 
nest with the mother hen, although if at liberty, as on a farm, she 
will usually hide her nest. Guineas are gradually becoming polyg- 
amous, and the male will take as many as three or even four wives. 
The female makes a poor sitter and not a good mother. The wild 
nature is the cause of this, and if left to hatch her eggs and raise 
the young, she rarely brings more than four or five to maturity, at 
least this has been my experience. In the West, guineas begin to 
lay about April and continue until August. They weigh about 
three to three and a half pounds, and there is a growing market 
for them. 



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J. Bursows' Model Breeding Room for Canaries, Ocean Park Heights, Cal. 



CANARIES 



Canaries can scarcely be called "Poul- 
try," but all my life I have been a suc- 
cessful raiser of them and I so dearly 
love them that I want to give them a 
chapter in my book to let others know 
about the prettiest and dearest of "our 
little feathered brothers of the air." 
The wonder to me is that so few of 
them are kept and loved in California. 

In _ England, in France, in Germany, 
and in most of the European countries, 
canaries are a source of income as well 
as of pleasure to the artisan or me- 
chanic class. I have known personally 
shoemakers, plumbers, harness makers, 
carpenters, who were really expert ca- 
nary breeders. I have myself patiently 
turned a little bird organ for hours day 
after day to reach the youngsters to 
whistle a certain tune, and at one time 
I took a number to the forest of Mont- 
morency so that they could learn the 
nightingale song from the wild night- 
ingales of the forest. 

Canaries were brought to England 
about three hundred and fifty years ago 
from the Canary Islands. Since that 
time they have been extensively bred as 
household pets. During the three hun- 
dred and fifty years of its domestication 
the canary has been the subject of care- 
ful artificial selection, the result being 
the production of a bird differing wide- 
ly in color of plumage and even in size 
and in form from the original wild bird. 

In England, as well as in other coun- 
tries, canary breeding is a hobby. There 
are hundreds of canary shows in Eng- 
land, and thousands of the lovely little 
pets are exhibited annually, but the cli- 
max show is at the Crystal Palace every 
February, when the champions from all 
over the country meet, and the judges 
have a hard time to select among so 
many almost perfect specimens the best 
canary in all England. The winner of 
each class in that Crystal Palace show 
means the choicest of ten to twenty 
thousand from over all England. Scot- 
land, Wales, and even Ireland. The en- 
thusiasm in England over these beau- 
tiful little peets is greater than in any 
other country, and it is not surprising, 
when one realizes that the expense of 
feeding a canary is next to nothing, and 
the care of them only a pleasure. 

The price of canaries in England va- 
ries from one dollar to five hundred, 
for it all depends upon the beauty and 
the singing quality. In some places 



there are singing contests for some va- 
rieties. For show and singing and for 
general excellency the Norwich Canary 
carries the palm. It is the favorite breed 
in England. 

I have asked a canary expert breeder 
and judge to tell us more about the dif- 
ferent breeds of canaries that are popu- 
lar in England and in Europe. 

The judge (John Burrows) was for a 
number of years secretary of the Lei- 
cestershire (England) Ornithological 
Society and of the celebrated Leicester 
Shows, and knows more about the Eng- 
lish canaries and English wild and casre 
birds than any one I have met in Cali- 
fornia. His description of high-class 
canaries will interest many. 

The largest canary is the Lancashire 
"Coppy." This we place first because 
it is the giant of the canary family, of- 
ten measuring seven and a half to eight 
inches long. As their name implies, 
they are bred for their crests, "coppy" 
being the old English for crest or cap. 
A good exhibition bird should have a 
drooping crest with a well-defined cen- 
ter, the crest feathers entirely covering 
the eyes and beaks. 

Yorkshires — These birds are some- 
times called the "Aristocrats" of canary- 
dom. They are very straight, long and 
slim, with an erect carriage and feathers 
like wax, lying tightly to their slim 
bodies. 

Lizards — A bantam variety of the 
canaries with beautiful spangled coats 
and a clear (not spangled) cap, the yel- 
lows are called the Gold Liazrds and 
the Siliver Spangled have the tips of the 
yellow feathers just slightly tipped with 
white. They are both most charming- 
little, tiny birds. 

Borders — These are another of the 
Wee Gems. They should be round in 
shape and as tight in feather for exhibi- 
tion as though carved from boxwood. 

Cinnamons — A beautiful variety of 
the Norwich type is called Cinnamon. 
They should be of sound cinnamon color 
with dark penciling showing on their 
coats. This is a truly grand variety. 

Scotch Fancy — The Scotch Fancy is 
a great favorite in Scotland. They 
should stand with the head over the 
perch and the tail under, forming a 
crescent like a new moon. 

Belgium — This variety should stand 
on the perch with the tail in a perfectly^ 
straight line with the back, head bent* 



156 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



down so that the shoulders are the high- 
est point on view. They are trained to 
keep the head down and the shoulders 
up, so that they have almost the appear- 
ance of being hump-backed. 

Dutch Frills — These are frilled on 
the chest, which makes them appear 
rough, but they have many admirers. 

London Fancy — This once popular 
bird, with clear, bright yellow body and 
dark wings and tail, seems to be get- 
ting quite scarce, now very few being 
bred, probably on account of the diffi- 
culty of breeding with the proper mark- 
ings. 

Norwich — Last, but not least, we have 
the Norwich variety. This is without 
doubt the most popular and beautiful of 
the canary family, not only on account 
of the lovely and wonderful coloring, 
but also as singers they are second to 
none. In no other variety is there such 
depth of color, and so large a variety of 
markings. 

The Norwich canary should have a 
full, round head with thick, short neck 
set on a chubby, round body, broad 
chest, short wings and tail. He should 
stand well across the perch with a bold, 
jaunty appearance. They vary in color- 
ing and feather through all the various 
phases of marking from the green to 
the clear yellow, sometimes a specimen 
is seen with both eyes and wings marked 
alike, these are called "even marked" 
and are highly valued, while rarer still 
is the bird marked on eyes, wings and 
each side of the tail, this is called a "six- 
pointed" bird. 

The Norwich is divided, as are the 
other varieties, in to "yellows" and 
"buffs." Good exhibition specimens of 
yellows are of the brightest orange, al- 
most the color of red-hot iron. The 
"buffs," although as deep and bright in 
color, have the end of each little feather 
just tipped with white very lightly. The 
deep bright yellow shining through 
gives the appearance of being frosted, or 
as if a thin white lace veil were over 
the bird with the yellow shining 
through. The effect is almost indescrib- 
ably beautiful. Some of these birds are 
extremely valuable. They are good 
songsters, exquisite little birds, bright 
and intelligent. 

There are many shows in the differ- 
ent cities and towns all over England, 
Scotland, Wales and Ireland in the fall 
and winter and when these shows are 
over the owners of the prize winners 
.send the champions (those that have 
never been beaten) up to the biggest 



and best show of all in the month of 
February at the Crystal Palace. At the 
52nd annual show last February there 
were in all 2600 cage birds competing 
for prices. A prize there means a win- 
ning over about 26,000 birds from all 
over the country. 

In reply to the request of one of his 
customers for a few instructions in the 
management of canries, Mr. John Bur- 
rows writes : 

I like a room with the window in the 
East or Southeast, so that the birds 
will get the sun's rays when it is not 
too warm in the morning, also we must 
remember that the birds feed their 
young at the earliest opportunity in the 
morning. 

I prefer a breeding cage as plainly 
made as possible, with just a wire front, 
every crevice must be puttied up, so 
there is no room for red mites, no 
ornaments or mouldings of any sort, it 
should be either limewashed or paint- 
ed, with a drawer at bottom to clean 
them out, sliding divisions in the mid- 
dle. Some fanciers use a slide with a 
few wires, so that the birds can get ac- 
quainted that way. Plenty of sharp 
grit in bottom of cage, the seed hopper 
in the center over slide, drinking water 
at each end, never put drinking water 
inside; four perches, two each side the 
slide, perches made big enough for birds 
to grasp firmly (no pencils). Hang nest 
box between perches when birds are 
ready to build. Size of breeding cage 
outside measure 36 in. long, 18 in. high, 
12 in. deep. When your cages are ready, 
place the female on one side and the 
male on the other, when the male bird 
is seen feeding the hen through the 
wires, they are then ready to begin 
housekeeping, but don't put them to- 
gether till March 1st, then you have 
plenty of time for three nests before the 
end of July. The male bird I sent you 
is a buff marked, he should be paired 
to a yellow hen. 

Don't feed anything but plain canary 
seed in the hoppers, just a pinch of the 
following every other day in rotation, 
maw, rape, flax, hemp, millet ; never 
give mixed seed, just a little tender 
green food every alternate day. 

You will tell when the hen is about 
ready to lay. as she will finish her nest, 
and will not let the male pull it to pieecs 
as perhaps he has been doing. When 
she has laid, take out the egg and put 
in a dummy, a small marble. She will 
perhaps lay every morning till the nest 
is complete, but if she misses a day 



CANARIES 



157 



don't worry. On the evening of the 3rd 
egg put them all back in the nest. She 
ought to start then and sit, they should 
all hatch together on the 14th morn. If 
the male bird is quiet he need not be re- 
moved, but if he is too gay he had bet- 
ter be put the other side of the slide 
until the young are one week old, when 
he can be put back and take his share in 
feeding and raising the family. As soon 
as the young leave the nest, the hen will 
be ready to lay again. By the time the 
second ones are one week old, the male 
bird can be returned again, as the first 
young ones will be able to feed them- 
selves, and must be turned into a long 
flight cage, where they will have plenty 
of room for exercise. All the while the 
birds have young they should be fed on 
egg and bread food or ground crackers; 
nearly all egg when birds are first 
hatched, then increase the crackers as 
the young get older, also plenty of green 
food every day. Don't take their other 
seed away. They are also very fond of 
wild seeds, partly ripe, which is one of 
nature's foods for young birds. Soaked 
seed is also good, but it soon sours in 
this country. Everything must be kept 
as clean as possible, scalding all nesting 
materials, and be always on the lookout 
for the red mite. It is a good plan to 
dust the nest, when she begins to sit, 
with insect powder, also a day before 
she hatches. 

I hope by following instructions in 
these few lines you will be able to raise 
quite a family. 

German Canaries — At my request 
Mr. J. C. Edwards, manager of "Bird- 
land," Los Angeles, California, kindly 
sends me the following : 

The people who have devoted greatest 
attention to the rearing of canaries are 
the Germans. By them the cultivation 
of the singing qualities of the bird has 
been almost the exclusive desideratum, 
no particular reference being made to 
beauty of plumage, shape or size. The 
finest singers in the world are the 
trained German birds. 

The length of the Germany canary is 
about five and one-half inches, the color 
varying from pure yellow to a yellow- 
ish srreen. The birds are sometimes mot- 
tled or crested, for, as before stated, 
their breeding has entire reference to 
their song and not to their plumage. 

In many districts of Germany the 
breeding of canaries is the principal oc- 
cupation of the people, but the "Hartz 
Mountain" region surpasses all others 
in this business. The choicest breed is 



reared on the summit of the mountain 
in the little hamlet of "St. Andreas- 
berg," where the bird education is ear- 
ned to a degree that can scarcely be 
understood by the general public in this 
country. Every facility is given for the 
young birds to acquire the cultured 
notes of well-selected singers. Various 
mechanical devices are employed to in- 
troduce long trills, and flute notes and 
other oddities in song. From three to 
six months of constant training is need- 
ed to bring the young songsters to per- 
fection. St. Andreasberg Rollers is the 
name of these canaries. 

German canaries being bred by thou- 
sands of small breeders all over Ger- 
many, no one can tell just how many 
are produced annually. Our eastern im- 
porters dispose of over three hundred 
thousand of these birds in this country 
every year. Personally, I cannot see 
why we do not produce our own birds. 
We excel all foreign countries in su- 
perior poultry, horses, flowers, and by 
giving the matter the attention required 
we should be able to breed in time as 
good, if not better, songsters than any 
of the imported. There are thousand's 
of people in this country raising poultry 
that they are selling for $1 a head and 
think they are doing well. Canaries 
can be produced for less than chickens, 
and will always bring more than a dol- 
lar. There is always a demand for good 
songsters and any one that will take up 
this matter on a sensible commercial 
basis can do well with it. 

The rearing of young ibrds is a task 
in which all will not be equally success- 
ful, but it is safe to say that by follow- 
ing a few simple directions success will 
be assured. The breeding of canaries 
may be commenced about the middle of 
February and continued till midsum- 
mer, one pair raising several broods if 
permuted. However, continuing the 
breeding season too long is not advis- 
able, as it will prove detrimental to the 
health of the birds. 

The cage in which the breeding takes 
place should be roomy, sixteen inches in 
length is the smallest and ten. inches in 
width, but larger cages result in better, 
healthier birds. The cage should be hung 
against the wall or placed upon a shelf 
some seven or eight feet from the floor 
and facing the south. When once it 
has become the home of the pairing 
birds its position should not be changed, 
nor should it be needlessly taken from 
its place. The cage should be provided 
with a drawer, which must be kept clean 



158 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



and strewn daily with fine gravel or 
sand. Cleanliness is very necessary. 

Fresh water, both for drinking and 
bathing, should be supplied daily. Plenty 
of nutritious food should be given. Feed 
the egg and cracker mixture daily in ad- 
dition to the seed and some green food, 
such as lettuce or dandelion or bits of 
sweet apple. 

As soon as the male is observed to be 
feeding his mate, nesting material or a 
ready-made nest should be given to 
them. In about eight days after mating 
the female will begin to lay, and will 
deposit one egg daily until the whole 
number are laid, seldom less than four, 
occasionally six or even seven. The 
period of incubation is fourteen days. 

The male will assist in feeding the 
young; plenty of soft food should be 
supplied them. The egg and cracker 
mixture should be customary diet, on 
this they will thrive. They should also 
have plenty of succulent green food, 
such as lettuce, chickweed, etc. In 
about three weeks the young birds will 
be able to leave the nest. They will 
soon learn to feed themselves if plenty 
of soft food is kept before them, and 
will soon eat the birdseed. When some 
four weeks old the males will be noticed 
swelling their throats, as if attempting 
to warble. The birds will be in full 
feather when six weeks old, but soon 
thereafter begin to cast their body 
feathers, and two months may elapse 



before they are in perfect plumage 
again. During this period they should 
be carefully preserved from draughts, 
and fed the egg mixture daily, together 
with rape seed which has been softened 
in water, and a little crushed hemp seed, 
not forgetting greed food. 

A young male's capacity to sing de- 
pends upon good breeding. He inherits 
this, but if he sings well it is by imi- 
tation. If you expect your young birds 
to become good singers you must place 
near them as good as songster as you 
can buy or borrow. A little money 
spent for a fine singer that can act as 
instructor to the young will be well re- 
paid. 

Bird fanciers in Germany put their 
canaries to school immediately after" the 
moulting season is past, the birds being 
then about three months old. A large 
number of young males are placed in a 
half-lighted room, connected with an 
apartment above by an opening in the 
ceiling. In the upper room are placed 
the choicest singers that can be com- 
manded — nightingales, larks, etc. — which 
act as instructors to the young birds. 
The young canaries soon learn the les- 
sons so carefully set for them and in a 
few months become expert musicians. 

These two articles on both English 
and German canaries should be helpful 
to canary breeders and either of the 
writers will be glad to answer questions 
or supply stock to enquirers. 



BASLEY FORMULAS (Tested) 



Basley Chick Feed 

Cracked Wheat , 30 lbs. 

Steel Cut Oats 30 lbs. 

Finely Cracked Corn 15 lbs. 

Millet . , 10 lbs. 

Rice . . . 10 lbs. 

Pearl Barley 10 lbs. 

Rape Seed 10 lbs. 

Granulated Milk 10 lbs. 

Granulated Dried Bone 10 lbs. 

Chick Grit 10 lbs. 

Granulated Charcoal 5 lbs. 



Total 150 lbs. 

Basley Dry Food for Laying Hens 

By measure : 

Bran 2 parts 

Alfalfa Meal . . • • 1 part 

Corn meal 1 part 

Rolled Oats or Oatmeal • • 1 part 

Beef Scrap 1 part 

A little pepper and salt. 

Basley "Egg Coaxer" 

Dose half a pint once a day for twenty hens when they are moulting or to 
encourage egg laying. This is an infallible egg producer. To be given in the 
mash either dry or wet. 

Dried -Blood 10 lbs. 

Beef Meal • • 10 lbs. 

Bone Meal 10 lbs. 

Linseed Meal • ■ 5 lbs. 

Sulphur 2 lbs. 

Powdered Charcoal - lbs. 

Cayenne Pepper V* lbs. 

Salt . ^ lb - 

Douglas Mixture 

Tonic and disinfectant: Sulphate of iron (common copperas), eight ounces; 
sulphuric acid, one-half ounce. Put into a bottle or jug one gallon of water; 
into this put the sulphate of iron. As soon as the iron is dissolved, add the acid. 
When the mixture is clear, it is ready for use. Dose: one teaspoonful in one 
pint of drinking water. This is one of the best tonics for poultry known. It 
is an antiseptic as well as a tonic, and is a good remedy for many diseases. 

Basley Liniment for Rheumatism 

One cup of vinegar; one cup of turpentine; as much saltpetre as it will 
take up, about a heaping tablespoonful. Keep in a bottle, shake before using. 
Bathe the affected part twice a day. Excellent for bruises, sprains, etc. ; also 
in the human family or animals of any kind. 



160 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



Epsom Salts, Purgative Dose 

Epsom salts is one of the most useful drugs we have in combating in- 
ternal diseases in poultry. An ordinary dose is 20 to 30 grains, administered 
in water. The dose for different ages, where quick purgative effect is desired, 
follows : 



Amt. per Bird. How administered. 

. . . 10 grains In feed 

. . . 15 grains In feed 

. . . 20 grains In feed 

. . . 30 grains Dissolved in water 



Age of Bird. 

1 to 6 weeks 

5 to 10 weeks 

10 to 15 weeks 

15 to 26 weeks 

6 to 12 months : 35 grains Dissolved in water 

1 year and over 40-50 grains Dissolved in water 

One ounce apothecary weight is 480 grains. One ounce is a quick purga- 
tive dose for 12 mature fowls. An ordinary dose is half this quantity. 



BROODERS 



Will you tell a beginner what kind of 
brooder you recommend? — Mrs. J. F. Y. 

Answer. — There are a number of good 
brooders on the market. For a begin- 
ner I usually advise the kind that bring 
in fresh warm air. Or else a small 
house which can be used as a coop for 
the chickens when they are half grown. 
There is a very good brooder made here 
which has a coal oil heater at the back 
that warms a small hover inside and 
does well in the coldest weather for 
about a hundred chickens and the same 
house or coop can be used by putting in 
perches when the chicks are old enough 
to be weaned from the hover. 

At Petaluma many large breeders are 
taking out all the different pipes for 
heating and substituting a small stove 
heated by distillate. This stove stands 
in the middle or the house, which is 
fourteen or even twenty feet square, or 



about that. Over the stove is a de- 
flector, shaped like a Chinese umbrella, 
which deflects the heat down upon the 
chicks which spread around on the floor. 
This brooder house and stove is intend- 
ed to hold from a thousand to fifteen 
hundred chicks and for those intending 
to raise large numbers this seems to be 
the best and the newest way. The stove, 
with automatic regulator to control the 
heat by shutting off part of the distil- 
late and making a smaller flame, can be 
bought, ready to put up, with tank, 
pipes, etc., at Petaluma for about $18. 
I have seen it working in several large 
ranches. (See illustrations page 75 of 
Mr. Davison's brooder houses.) I can 
recommend these. Also the fireless 
brooders which can be used in small, 
low colony houses, or even in piano box 
coops very advantageously for a few 
chickens, twenty-five to a hundred. 



PART II. 



Questions 



and 



Answers 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



Apoplexy — What is the trouble with 
my hens? They seem healthy and all 
at once they begin to gasp and fall over 
dead. I cut one open and it was in fine 
condition, fat and nice. I cannot make 
out what it is. — Mrs. C. S. 

Answer — ■ Your hen had apoplexy 
from being overfat. The overfat condi- 
tion weakens the muscles, and the heart 
and brain give way. Give the whole 
flock a little Epsom salts in the water 
for a week, cut dov n the amount of 
grain, especially any corn or corn meal 
in their feed, and feed more green food 
and more animal food with, of course, 
charcoal and grit. 



Air PuPP — Barred Rock about 6 or 7 
weeks old. A few days ago it went to 
limping and I supposed it was some of 
the others crowding, but I have since 
noticed its whole right side was puffed 
away out, just the skin, and I took a 
needle and made a small opening and 
there was nothing but wind in it. I 
repeated the same operation next day. 
It eats and drinks and aside from the 
limping, seems to feel all right. — Mrs. 
J. N. H. 

Answer — Your chick had what is 
called "Air Puff," and you did just right 
in puncturing the skin ; you saved its life 
by it. The trouble comes from a wound 
or abrasion of the lung tissue resulting 
from violence of some kind. After ca- 
ponizing a chick this trouble often de- 
velops. I have seen the poor little things 
almost as round as a ball and so light 
from the air under the skin that the 
slightest breeze rolled them along. 
Chicks that get trampled on by their 
mothers, or cockerels that fight, are li- 
able to suffer from injuries that result 
in "air puff." They become inflated with 
air. The treatment is a good nourish- 
ing diet. I resort to bread and milk in 
such cases. It is easily digested, and, 
puncture the skin to let the air out. In 
slight cases where there is only a little 
air under the skin it will disappear 
gradually without treatment, but if there 
is a considerable amount of air it is nec- 
essary to prick the skin and let it out. 



Answer — Your hen has probably what 
is called "bumble-foot." It is something 
like a stone bruise or a corn in human 
beings. It usually comes from a corn 
or bruises of the feet, wounds with 
thorns, broken glass, hard stones or 
other sharp substances. The ball of the 
foot becomes swollen, inflamed, hot and 
painful. The fowl appears in pain. 
Corns are often caused by too small or 
narrow perches, which compel the fowl 
to grasp them tightly in order to main- 
tain their position. This firm grasp con- 
tinued night after night, affects the cir- 
culation of the part of the foot that 
comes in closest contact with the perch. 
A similar condition may be caused by 
heavy birds flying from, their perches 
and lighting upon a stony surface or 
hard floor. 

If it has not yet become an abscess, 
simply cut off the thickened skin or corn 
without causing bleeding and paint the 
corn with tincture of iodine. If pus has 
developed, soak the foot in warm water 
twice a day and poultice until the in- 
flammation is reduced. After thorough- 
ly cleaning the foot, if pus has devel- 
oped, open the abscess freely with a 
sharp knife and scrape out the diseased 
matter. Wash out the wound carefully 
with peroxide of hydrogen or carbol- 
ized water. Stuff the wound full of io- 
dine gauze and bandage it. Continue 
this treatment daily until the wound is 
almost healed, then apply a good oint- 
ment daily until it is entirely well. The 
bird must be kept on clean, dry straw 
until fully recovered. 



BumblE-FOOT — I have a lame hen ; she 
limps on her left foot. She eats as well 
as my other hens, her comb is red and 
looks healthv as the others. — Mrs. M. 
M. C. 



Bronchitis — Will you kindly tell me 
what ails my White Leghorn hen? She 
sits around most of the time and 
squawks and slings her head and when 
I hold my ear to her side I can hear a 
continual rattling. Her comb is red and 
she eats well. I feed corn, wheat, Kaffir 
corn and table scraps. They run on 
plenty of green range. Her nostrils are 
clean. Age, 8 months. — C. C. S. 

The irritation of the bronchial tubes 
is sometimes the remains of an attack 
of roup. I have found a little honey 
one of the best remedies. I would ad- 
vise you to mix one teaspoonful of euca- 
lyptus oil or teaspoonful of turpentine 
(I prefer the eucalyptus) in one cupful 
of strained honey ; mix thoroughly and 
give the bird one teaspoonful night and 
morning. At the same time give a nour- 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



163 



ishing diet. A little red pepper and 
chopped onions in her food would also 
help the cure. 



Bald Headed — Some of my hens are 
becoming bald headed. The feathers for 
half an inch and more back of the comb 
disappear. The hens seem in the best of 
health and lay well. There are no lice 
or mites on the chickens, on the roosts 
or in the nests. If you can give me a 
remedy I shall consider It a great favor. 
—Mrs. E. E. C. 

Answer — -This is not at all an un- 
common occurrence just before the 
moult. Those feathers have merely 
ripened a little earlier than the others, 
and, strange to say, it is usually the best 
layers that are so affected. You can 
grease the bald spot with a little vase- 
line. This will hasten the growth of 
the new feathers. 



Bund Chicks — What is the matter 
with my little chickens ? They are about 
two months old. I find them with one 
eye shut and sometimes both, and when 
I open it a watery substance comes from 
them. When only one eye is affected, 
they are perfectly blind in it, but can 
see all right out of the other, and when 
both eyes are affected, they are blind in 
both. 

Their mouths are perfectly clear and 
they have a rattle in their throat. They 
have been affected now for about two 
weeks and several have died. It seems 
very contagious. — Mrs. A. L. S. 

Answer — The starting point of nearly 
all cases of blindness in chicks is in 
roupy breeding stock. A slight chill or 
cold is sufficient to start an epidemic 
of this blindness in a flock of chicks, if 
they already possess the inherited tend- 
ency to weakness of these parts from 
parents that were not in fit breeding con- 
dition. This blindness is a result of an 
inflammation of the mucous membrane 
of the eye and lids, which produces a 
sticky exudate, which gums the eyelids 
together. 

Sometimes the inflammation of the 
lids is excited by irritating substances 
like lime or sharp, dusty sand, insect 
powders or kerosene getting into the 
eyes. These causes may produce blind- 
ness in chicks that do not have roupy 
ancestors. That form of inflammation 
of the lids accompanied by hardening 
of the lids is not uncommonly caused 
by irritants, kerosene particularly. 



Uncleanliness is another cause of 
blindness of this sort, and too many who 
attempt to raise chicks are careless in 
this respect. Lice and mites also do 
their share to cause the trouble. 

The best way to remedy such cases is 
to prevent them or remove the cause if 
possible. In cases where there is an 
amount of exudate it will be well to 
bathe the eyes with a solution of bo- 
racic acid, fifteen grains to a half cup 
of water, and then dry with a soft cloth 
and apply a little carbolic salve. It is 
difficult to get satisfactory results dos- 
ing young chickens with medicine, but 
you might give them either a little bread 
and milk with a sprinkling of red pepper 
and sulphur on it, or rice boiled in milk 
with a tablespoonful of ground cinna- 
mon for each pint of milk. 



Cancer — The writer wishes to know 
if poultry are subject to cancer. — J. H. 

Answer — Poultry are not subject to 
cancer, but they are to tuberculosis, 
which may be taken for the same. There 
is no cure for this but the hatchet. A 
thorough disinfecting of the premises 
must be made. The bodies of any fowl 
dying from this disease should be 
burned, or buried very deeply, as it is 
an infectious disease. 



Canker — I am anxious to know if the 
heavy Black Orpingtons are hardy. I 
have just bought a fine cockerel and 
four hens; one of them has just got 
canker. What is the cause and remedy? 
—Mrs. M. N. 

Answer — The Black Orpingtons are 
very hardy. Am sorry your pen has 
canker. The cure for that is to paint 
the spots with sulpho-carbolate of zinc 
(four grains in an ounce of distilled 
water) night and morning. This will 
kill the germ, but in case it is diphther- 
itic roup, would advise you to paint it 
one day with the sulpho-carbolate of 
zinc and the next day with peroxide of 
hydrogen, as the latter kills the diph- 
theritic germ. The open front houses 
are the best for every kind of fowl in 
this climate. A change of diet will often 
affect the droppings of the fowls, when 
they are normal. You had better slight- 
ly change the foods, or if you feed them 
charcoal, it will materially assist the di- 
gestion, and you need fear no trouble. A 
little Epsom salts in the water, if the 
fowls are very fat and heavy, is also an 



164 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



assistant, but by giving them plenty of 
green food, you will have no trouble. 



Cannibalism — I had a hatching of 
Black Minorcas three weeks ago of 115 
chicks ; today I have about 80. In the 
first place, the chicks are hearty and 
well, but will bite the rectum of the 
other chicks and in two or three minutes 
will just tear the bowels out and kill the 
little chicks. Every one will give it a 
nip, and if we are not constantly on the 
alert all would be dead. No one of 
whom I have inquired has ever heard 
of such a thing. I have raised these 
just as I raise my White Leghorns. I 
hatched 160 seven weeks ago, and today 
have 158 fine chicks. You would oblige 
me very much with a remedy. — W. P. H. 

Answer — The remedy for "cannibal- 
ism" is first, to keep all the chicks busy 
with exercising; in order to do this, 
keep the floor of the brooder covered 
with chaff or finely cut alfalfa hay at 
least an inch deep and feed the chicks 
small grain (chick feed) in this ; the 
hay or chaff keeps the toes and feet 
covered, conceals them, and the busy 
little things are so occupied scratching 
that they do not get into mischief. Sec- 
ondly, give them a little more animal 
food or milk. The cannibals have a 
craving for animal food, and sometim.es 
a bit of fat salt pork, whether fed to 
them or nailed up where they can peck 
at it, satisfies this craving. Thirdly, find 
the first leader of this mischief, and 
either kill him or isolate him and give 
him to a hen to bring up. This bad habit 
is usually started by one chick, and all 
the others follow suit, and soon the 
whole brooder will acquire the habit, 
and it is almost impossible to stop it if 
it has got a good start. 



Warts on Combs and Eyes — I am in 
trouble and I know you can advise me. 
September 24th I hatched some Blue 
Andalusians. They have grown very 
fast, seemed extra healthy and vigorous 
until a few days ago, when warts be- 
gan to appear on their combs and eyes. 
In one night they grew twice in size. I 
have nine, and they are all becoming af- 
fected. What in the world is it, and is 
it catching? They have run at large en- 
tirely and their feed in grain is mostly 
kaffir corn. They were such fine chicks, 
and I was raising them for breeders, 
but now feel discouraged. I have a 
younger litter, four weeks old, but they 
are all right so far. My old birds are 



fine stock and very healthy. These 
warts did not make their appearance un- 
til the chicks were eight weeks old. — 
Mrs. H. E. S. 

Answer — Your chickens have chicken 
pox in a very virulent form. Chicken 
pox is from a germ and it is very in- 
fectious. It is fatal to young chicks. In 
severe cases it goes into the throat and 
mouth, as you describe. The best home 
remedies that I know are first to grease 
the "warts" that are on the outside of 
the mouth or under the wings with a 
little carbolic salve. Then wash the 
mouth and throat with vinegar and salt 
(a level teasponful in a cup of vinegar), 
following this the next day with swab- 
bing with peroxide of hydrogen. Give 
germazone in the drinking water. Feed 
nourishing and easily digestible food, 
such as bread and milk. 

Chicken pox or sore head affects ordi- 
nary fowls, and more rarely geese. 
Young chickens are more susceptible 
than the older fowls. It is caused by a 
parasitic fungus. The bite of insect 
abrasions of the comb, such as scratches 
from fighting in cockerels or turkeys, 
make conditions favorable for the para- 
site to get into the skin of the fowl. 
The bite of an insect, such as the flea or 
mite, will carry or give the disease. It 
is contagious. At first it has some ap- 
pearance of warts, these reach their full 
development in from five to ten days. 
The largest are found about the beak, 
nostrils or eyelids. These warts seem to 
run together and form yellow masses 
upon the comb and wattels. Chicken 
pox is more prevalent in damp weather 
than in dry. 

The cure is, wash the warts in warm 
soap suds, dry and apply carbolated 
vaseline, or kileroup, and feed a light, 
nourishing diet, one-third being cut 
green alfalfa and give bread and milk to 
which add half a teaspoonful of pow- 
dered sulphur. 

Disinfect the premises thoroughly. 



Cold in The Head — Can you tell me 
what is the matter with my chickens ? 
They eat, seem to feel good, sing and 
play and are laying good, but they seem 
to have a cold or something. They try 
to blow their noses and bubbles come 
out. Have been that way for about six 
weeks ; they have a good coop with no 
air holes ; six eight ; one end open ; only 
twenty-five to roost in it. They have 
had bluestone in their drinking water 
every day for a month ; they do not get 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



165 



any worse or seem to be any better ; 
they have warm mash for morning feed 
and wheat noon and night. — F. C. H. 

Answer — I am afraid that your chick- 
ens are too crowded in their roosting 
quarters and that they get too warm at 
night and come out into the cool morn- 
ing air and in this way take cold. Or 
the open end may be towards the night 
breeze. They evidently have, for some 
cause, slight colds. Bluestone, or ger- 
mazone in the water is an excellent cure 
and by adding chopped onions and a lit- 
tle red pepper to the mash, should cure 
them. One teaspoonful of red pepper 
for every twelve hens is the dose. Rub 
the head well with kileroup. See roup 
cures in this book. 



Cough and Sneeze — Will you please 
tell me what is the matter with my 
birds? I have several that cough or 
sneeze, I do not know which. They 
will shake their heads and "holler." 
One can hear them quite a distance. Will 
you please tell me the disease and rem- 
edy? — B. J., Tucson, Ariz. 

Answer — Your fowls have bronchitis 
and perhaps some influenza. Give them 
bread and milk for supper, and a quinine 
pill and half a teaspoonful of red pepper 
mixed with butter. And see that they 
do not sleep in a draught or in a house 
where the rain comes in on them. Also 
give them each five drops of eucalyptus 
oil on a bit of bread or in half a tea- 
spoonful of honey. 



Comb Discolored — I have a White 
Leghorn cock two years old ; he has al- 
ways been healthy, but for the last two 
months I notice that his comb and wat- 
tles turned a deep purple and would 
remain so for days, then they would 
change to a natural color again, but only 
for a day or so, and then turn purple 
again. He seems to be healthy and vig- 
orous in every way. Now, can you tell 
me what can be the matter with him 
and what I can do for him, or if it 
would be wise to use him any further 
for breeding purposes? — Mrs. L. S. 

Answer — The comb tells quite a little 
story of what is going on in the organs 
of the whole body. Any change in the 
appearance of the comb is indicative of 
a disturbance in some other part of the 
bird. 

The dark colored comb is an indica- 
tion of a disordered liver and indiges- 



tion. The dark comb is one of the first 
symptoms noticed in congestion of the 
liver and most cases of this come from 
an overfeeding of a ration too rich in 
starch elements, such as too much po- 
tatoes or bread in the table scraps, and 
insufficient exercise. I do not know how 
you are feeding your fowls, but I would 
recommend you to put a little Epsom 
salts into the drinking water, or you can 
give him alone a small half teaspoonful 
in a tablespoonful of water, and put in 
the drinking water of the whole fleck 
ten drops of tincture of nux vomica to 
a pint of water. Feed plenty of green 
food and more meat than you are now 
giving; keep this up for a week and 
then turn the birds out on a grass range 
if possible, otherwise give to the birds 
as scratching material the waste from 
an alfalfa hay mow and allow them only 
a little grain, wheat, and make them 
scratch hard for that. It would not be 
advisable to use the male bird for breed- 
ing. Breed only from the most vigor- 
ous stock you have. 



Why Combs Are White — We have 
two Buff Orpington hens that are sick. 
They mope around and do not eat. Their 
heads and gills are almost white, and 
sometimes one is almost blue. They 
look as though they have lice, but they 
have not. Can you give me some ad- 
vice as to how to treat them? Thanking 
you in advance, I am, respectfully, 
A. G. O. 

Answer — The comb tells quite a little 
story as to what is going on in the 
organs of the whole body. The normal 
condition of the comb presents a healthy 
look that the poultrymen call the "stan- 
dard red." Any deviation from this red 
is an indication of changed action in 
the workings of the organ, or to a 
change in the vitality of the whole bird. 
The light colored comb shows an anemic 
state of the bird and is a sign of under- 
feeding, lice, poor ventilation, and ab- 
sence of green vegetable food, impure 
water and uncleanly surroundings. 

As you say nothing of the feeding 
and treatment of the birds, I am unable 
to say which of these conditions fits 
your case. I think probably they are 
infested with lice or their houses with 
mites, and the only remedy is the ex- 
termination of these. 



Catarrh — Can you please tell me 
what the trouble is when chickens cough 



166 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



and their nose runs, also state the best 
way to rid them of this plague? — Mrs. 
S. A. B. 

Answer — Your chickens have taken 
cold and may have lice. Try to dis- 
cover what is giving them their severe 
colds. It is probably some draught. Put 
a piece of Milestone in their drinking 
water (the size of a bean in a quart of 
water) and give them a pill of the fol- 
lowing : Mix two tablespoons of lard, 
one each of mustard, red pepper, vine- 
gar; mix thoroughly, add sufficient flour 
to make a stiff dough. Give a bolus of 
this as big as the first joint of your lit- 
tle finger every night. One or two doses 
usually cures. 



Crop Bound — I have about 100 Leg- 
horns ; been very healthy all winter ; 
laying good. Now about six weeks ago 
I lost eleven of the heaviest ones in six 
days. They had yellow droppings ; lived 
only two days and died. Four others 
died after having a heavy crop hanging 
down ; they were apparently healthy and 
laying eggs regularly ; I cut the crops 
off three of them and found nothing but 
long strings of hay. Please oblige me 
by telling me the cause and what reme- 
dies.— A. F. H. 

Answer — Your hens are suffering 
from what is called crop-bound. They 
eat long pieces of hay, which form into 
a ball in the crop and cannot pass 
through them. After a time this fer- 
ments and decays and poisons the chick- 
ens or brings on inflammation of the 
crop. 

Cases of impaction of the crop caused 
by cracked corn are not so common, and 
occasionally there is a case from some 
foreign substance filling the outlet of 
the crop. 

Treatment— Make the bird swallow, 
by the aid of a funnel, some water in 
which half a teaspoonful of baking soda 
has been dissolved, then work the crop 
with the fingers until soft. Turn the 
bird upside down, and by working the 
crop, if it is impacted grain, the mass 
will be vomited out. After treating the 
bird, give it at night a dose of castor oil 
and feed sparingly for a few days on 
soft food. 

When long pieces of grass or hay 
cause this trouble, as in your case, almost 
the only remedy is to cut open the crop 
of the bird and wash it out. Have 
someone hold the bird so you can have 
both hands free to work. Pluck enough 



feathers from the breast to give bare 
skin half an inch wide by two inches 
long. Then with a sharp knife cut 
through the skin, lengthwise of the 
bird, an opening one inch long over the 
place of the swollen crop. Cut only the 
skin, leaving the crop untouched until 
the blood of the first incision has ceased 
to flow. Then cut through the crop a 
little over a half inch long. Half an 
inch may seem short, but you will be 
surprised to see how large the opening 
is after you have worked through it for 
awhile. In removing substances from 
the crop, be careful to let as little as 
possible slip between the skin and crop ; 
with a button-hook or anything else 
handy, remove the contents. If filled 
with grass or -hay, it is sometimes nec- 
essary to cut the mass with scissors be- 
fore any start can be made. When the 
crop is apparently empty, push your lit- 
tle finger into it, feeling to know wheth- 
er there is any obstruction at the outlet. 
If you find the opening clear, the last 
thing is to sew up the cut. With needle 
and white silk thread, take two single 
stitches in the cut in the crop, then in 
the same way take three stitches in the 
skin, tying off the silk at each stitch. Be 
careful not to include the crop in the 
knot tied. After the operation feed soft 
food, omitting grain for a week. 



Sick Chicks — I want your advice. 
My little chicks seem to be pert and 
healthy when they are first hatched and 
all right until they are two weeks old, 
and then they get all pasted up in the 
back; don't eat, just drink and are 
sleepy looking, droopy and die. I have 
lost over a dozen that way and have a 
lot more now that are in the same con- 
dition. They have no lice or mites, for 
I have examined them, and I don't see 
how they take cold. I have barrels for 
them to roost in, with a screen in front 
to protect them from cats or rats, so 
there is no draught through the barrel 
and I don't feed them anything but 
chick feed. I put copperas in their wa- 
ter this morning to see if that would 
check it. I am sorry to lose all my 
chicks after I have taken such good 
care of them. Please let roe know as 
soon as possible what I can do for them 
and oblige. Yours truly. — Mrs. C. C. B. 

Answer — Your little chicks have tak- 
en cold, probably from sleeping in a 
barrel. When little chicks have bowel 
trouble, it is almost always from taking 
cold. In mature hens a cold affects the 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



167 



head, throat, bronchial tubes or lungs, 
whilst with little chicks it affects first 
the bowels. 

A fireless brooder might have saved 
all your chicks. A barrel is very cold, 
unless it is well banked up on the out- 
side and the nest inside very carefully 
made. A flat box is much better. Cop- 
peras will not help them; the best thing 
for them is rice, boiled in milk, with a 
tablespoonful of ground cinnamon to 
each pint of the milk added after cook- 
ing. Cinnamon is a good disinfectant 
and healing and warming to the bowels. 
Copperas is cold and chilling and is apt 
to give indigestion to small chicks. 



Pullets Dying — We have a flock of 
incubator chicks that are not doing very 
well. The little pullets started to die 
when but seven weeks old and we lose 
one or two every day. They have the 
whole farm to run on. At first they 
hang their wings and act sleepy, then 
their heads turn blue and they die. We 
cannot find lice nor fleas on them. They 
are fed wheat, oatmeal, and some onions 
and malk. Have plenty of water, grit 
and charcoal. — Mrs.T. L. 

Answer — I think your chickens have 
worms ; the wings dropping and their 
acting sleepy are two of the most promi- 
nent symptoms with worms. Cut open 
the next one that dies and examine it. 
The best cure that I have found for 
worms is ten drops of turpentine in a 
teaspoonful of castor oil. This is for 
the common round worms. For tape 
worms, which are not so common, the 
dose is ten drops of tincture of male 
fern on a piece of bread or a lump of 
sugar in the morning, fasting followed 
by a dose of castor oil in an hour. Be > 
careful to clean up and destroy the drop- 
pings or the other chickens will eat 
them and the trouble will increase. 



Diphtheritic Roup — Having derived 
many useful ideas from your writings, 
I take the liberty to ask your advice re- 
garding a disease which has come upon 
my chickens. The first symptoms seem 
to be a sneezing or squawking sound, 
as if the chicken had a beard in its 
throat ; then a white membrane forms 
over the windpipe and the eyes close up 
and lumps break out around the comb. 
The lumps finally break and the eyes 
and nose run. Both Barred Rocks and 
White Leghorns are afflicted. The 
Barred seem to suffer the most. — Mrs. 
R. F. 



Answer— I am sorry to say your fowls 
have diphtheritic roup. It is a very in- 
fectious disease and if you have children 
you had better keep them away from 
the fowls. Spray the mouth, throat, 
nostrils and cleft in the mouth twice a 
day with peroxide of hydrogen. Give 
the fowls a quinine pill, four nights in 
succession, and once a day a bolus of 
the following mixture : Two spoons of 
lard, one each of mustard, cayenne pep- 
per and vinegar ; mix thoroughly, add 
flour enough to make stiff dough ; give 
a bolus as large as the first joint of your 
little finger once every twenty-four 
hours. 



Fatty Degeneration of Liver — I have 
noticed a hen moping and eating but 
little for two or three weeks, but as I 
had broken some up from sitting, 
thought it the result from broodiness. 
However, as she got no better I separ- 
ated her from the others, but yesterday 
she died. This morning I did as you 
advised, and duly performed the autopsy. 
I saw at once on making an incision 
what was the matter. Her liver was so 
enlarged that it occupied almost the 
whole cavity. I never saw one such a 
size. It was covered in blotches of pink 
spots, small as a pin point. There was 
fat around the heart and the intestines ; 
perhaps a fifth of an inch thick. There 
was plenty of grit in the gizzard but no 
food. The heart seemed in good con- 
dition, the body a good color, and flesh 
firm,. In the cavities of the back is a 
substance, of which I do not know the 
name, that seems to be enlarging and 
hardened. There were many eggs, but 
very small and undeveloped. Is this the 
kind of liver which is used as a delicacy 
and produced by overfeeding? My fowls 
were fed corn all winter and were much 
too fat this spring. In March they had 
layers of fat an inch in thickness. I did 
not suppose that a laying hen ought to 
have any fat inside of her. How should 
that be?— G. S. H. 

Answer — Your hens certainly had 
fatty degeneration of the liver, or the 
disease which the overfat geese have 
when their liver is considered a deli- 
cacy. She simply had been fed an un- 
balanced ration containing too much of 
the fat element, and being a Plymouth 
Rock, had become overfat. The sub- 
stance in the cavities of the back is the 
kidneys. There are three lobes of these 
on each side. Your fattening ration had 
also affected them. So much fat will 



168 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



also affect the egg laying, will make 
small eggs and chickens will be weakly, 
as there will be preponderance of fat in 
the eggs from which they are hatched. 
A laying hen should not be anything 
like as fat as those you describe. 



most incurable, but the treatment I have 
indicated may help him and prolong 

his life. 



Feather Pulling — Will you kindly 
tell me the cause of chickens pulling 
feathers from each other and eating 
them.? We feed them wheat, cracked 
corn, etc., also ground bone. — G. H. T. 

Answer — Various causes have been 
assigned for this habit, the most prob- 
able being improper rations and idle- 
ness. In some instances it is caused by 
mites or lice. As in some cases, the 
habit is due to insufficient animal mat- 
ter in the rations, or to feeding too long 
on a single kind of grain, particularly 
corn, one of the first measures adopted 
should be a well-balanced ration, con- 
taining skim milk, meat, bone, veget- 
ables or green feed and frequently va- 
ried. The Geneva, New York, experi- 
ment station applied to the feathers lard 
or vaseline in which powdered aloes had 
been mixed. After continuing this treat- 
ment for some time the habit disap- 
peared, due to the disagreeable taste of 
the aloes. The skin and feathers should 
be carefully examined for lice and mites 
and if these are found the remedies 
recommended for such parasite should 
be applied. 



Heart Trouble — I have a very fine 
rooster, two years old. For the past 
two months he has been troubled by 
some difficulty in breathing. At times 
his comb and wattles become purple for 
two or three minutes, then the color 
gets red again. I have looked for canker 
but cannot find anything that seems 
wrong. Have used vaseline but it has 
not done any good. It seems to me more 
like asthma or bronchitis. Wish I could 
cure him for he is a valuable bird. — 
Mrs. I. G. 

Answer — I am sorry to say that your 
bird has heart trouble. This has been 
brought on by some great excitement, 
such as fighting, fright or being chased. 
It may possibly be fat on the heart, 
which weakens that useful organ. You 
might try giving him in the drinking 
water nux vomica and sulphur comp. 2x 
twelve tablets to each pint of drinking 
water. Be careful to give him plenty 
of green food and grit, besides his or- 
dinary food. Cases of this kind are al- 



Hemorrhage oe Oviduct — I wish a 
little information in regard to a Leg- 
horn hen that died yesterday. She ap- 
parently choked to death ; made a queer 
noise. We opened her and found at the 
bottom of her egg bag a large clot of 
black blood. Can you tell me what it 
was and if there is any cure for it? 

Answer — Your White Leghorn hen 
had a hemorrhage of the oviduct ; this 
is excited by any of the causes which 
.lead to congestion and inflammation and 
may be counteracted by green feed and 
the suppression of egg foods, stimulants, 
red pepper, etc. It sometimes occurs 
from trying to pass too large an egg. 
There is no cure that I know of, as 
death occurs before one finds out what 
is the matter. 



Indigestion and Liver Complaint — 
My hens are on a strike, and their 
faces and combs are becoming pale or 
yellow. What is it?— I. S. B. 

Answer — You have been overfeeding, 
and now your fowls have indigestion. 
Indigestion in fowls is the cause of 
many ailments. With your birds it has 
been brought on by lack of grit, with 
not sufficient roughness (or filling) and 
too little exercise. How can indigestion 
be prevented? By dieting. Feed more 
bulky foods, such as alfalfa, and less 
solids. A continued grain diet of wheat, 
corn, barley, if few in quantities and 
not varied by bulky foods, vegetables, 
etc., will bring on indigestion, especially 
when but little exercise is taken. An 
i'nsufficiency of clean water is also con- 
ducive to this trouble. Clover, alfalfa, 
any of the green stuffs or vegetables, 
usually fed to fowls, are absolutely nec- 
essary preservatives of health. Now, as 
to a remedy : Your fowls' indigestion 
has taken the phase of biliousness. Give 
each affected hen one of Carter's Little 
Liver Pills, and give the whole flock a 
teaspoonful of baking soda in a quart 
of water every day for a week. Give no 
other water. Why do I recommend 
soda? Because it helps to emulsify the 
too much fat in the bowels. You might 
give a teaspoonful of Epsom salts in 
the water for a week, to carry off the 
bile which is overflowing into the in- 
testines and being taken into the system. 
It is not kindness to feed your fowls 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



169 



every time they come near you. It is 
far kinder to keep them working for it 
and so keep them healthy. 



Inflammation of the Crop — I have a 
Buff Orpington hen that has a disease 
I have never seen before. Her craw is 
swollen to several times its normal size 
and is filled with wind or gas. She eats 
but not as much as she should, and is 
getting thinner all the time. — H. Y. 

Answer — Your hen is suffering from 
inflammation of the crop. This is like 
a very severe attack of indigestion. The 
causes of this are irregular feeding or 
too much food being taken at one time. 
Partially decomposed meat, or putrid 
food of any kind will also cause con- 
gestion and fermentation of the contents 
of the crop. The same disease occurs 
when birds eat substances containing 
phosphorus or arsenic, or rat poison. 
The feeding of too large a quantity of 
pepper or stimulating "egg food" in the 
mash will also cause inflamed crop as 
well as trouble with the egg function. 

Treatment — A clean, dry pen should 
be provided for the affected bird. Empty 
the crop of its irritating and decompos- 
ing contents by careful pressure and ma- 
nipulation while the bird is held with its 
head downward. When the crop is 
freed of its contents, give two grains of 
subnitrate of bismuth and one-half grain 
of bicarbonate of soda in a teaspoon of 
water. The bird should then be kept 
without feed for eighteen hours and 
then fed sparingly upon easily digested 
food, such as bread and milk. Half a 
grain of quinine morning and night for 
two or three days will complete the cure. 



Influenza — I am in trouble with my 
chickens. Five of them have died since 
Monday. They open their mouths and 
gasp for breath and sneeze and their 
eyes are very watery. I feed wheat, 
cracked corn, plenty of green stuff and 
table scraps, and they have a good run. 
I always wash out their drinking pans 
and rake out under their roosts at least 
every other morning. — Mrs. J. F. S. 

Answer — Your chickens have influ- 
enza. They are taking cold in some 
way. Either there is a draught in their 
house or the rain comes in on them ; a 
few have had the cold and they are giv- 
ing it to the rest. Keep bluestone in their 
water, and give each of them a bolus of 
the following, night and morning: Mix 
two tablespoons of lard, one tablespoon 



each of cayenne pepper, mustard, vine- 
gar; mix thoroughly, add enough flour 
to make stiff dough ; roll ■ out ; give a 
bolus as large as the end of your little 
finger. Put carbolated vaseline or Kile- 
roup up their nostrils and in the cleft of 
the mouth, and give them chopped on- 
ions in their food. 



Leg Weakness — I am in trouble over 
my White Rock chickens. I only have 
a few, so would like to save them. When 
they are about three weeks old they get 
weak in the legs, and after a week or 
so they begin to tremble like a person 
that is nervous. They eat well until the 
last. I feed boiled egg and bread 
crumbs. They have green barley to run 
on. I feed kaffir corn at night. During 
the da}' I feed onions and table scraps. 
If you could tell me what to do I would 
be a thousand times obliged. — Mrs. 
W. K. 

Answer — -Your chickens are suffering 
from what is called "leg weakness." 
Leg weakness comes chiefly from wrong 
feeding, also from overcrowding at 
night and overheating. 

Young chickens should either be al- 
lowed free range with a hen or be en- 
couraged to work and scratch for their 
food. This strengthens their legs. The 
green food should form at least one- 
third of their diet and for such young 
chickens it would have to be chopped up 
finely. They cannot peck off sufficient 
green barley. It soon becomes too tough 
for them. The cure for leg weakness 
is a little tonic (a few drops of iron in 
their drinking water) and plenty of 
green food and cracked wheat instead 
of kaffir corn. If it comes from over- 
crowding or overheating, either under 
a hen or in a brooder, you must rectify 
this. See that they have "chick grit and 
charcoal." 



Acute Indigestion — I am in trouble 
with some incubator chicks and I write 
to ask you to be kind enough to diag- 
nose it. 

The chicks are Black Minorcas and 
are fourteen days old. They seemed to 
be doing well till yesterday. One or two 
all at once got so they could not stand 
up or walk, but looked bright. This 
morning there are half a dozen affected 
the same way. I feed them a chick 
feed I have used for several years, curd, 
charcoal, and plenty of grit and always 
give the fresh water three or four times 
a day. For the last three days they have 



170 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



run in a lettuce patch part of the day. 
I have a hot air brooder, plenty of fresh 
air at night. No sign of lice and I use 
a powder in the brooder once a week. 
I have raised chickens for several years 
but have never had any trouble like this 
and I would be greatly obliged if you 
can diagnose the case and give a remedy. 
—Mrs. P. V. M., Sacramento. 

Answer — -The symptoms you describe 
are those of poisoning or sudden and 
acute digestion. I can only suggest that 
it may be that the chick feed has mouldy 
grain in it or there may be ptomaine 
poison in the beef scrap. I would sug- 
gest that you put a little bicarbonate of 
soda in the drinking water. Give all the 
succulent green food that you can per- 
suade them to eat and to each affected 
chick administer without delay ten drops 
of castor oil. Try to find out where the 
poison comes from, change all the bed- 
ding in the brooder and brooder house 
and scald the brooder thoroughly with 
hot soap suds. When any sudden trou- 
ble like this comes, try to find the cause 
of it and remove it. I feel sure it is 
poison of some kind, either ptomaine or 
fungoid, such as mouldy bread or mil- 
dewed grain. 



Limber Neck — We have between 200 
and 300 chicks two months old that are 
badly afflicted with limber neck, and we 
cannot find out the cause. The first two 
or three weeks we fed them millet and 
Johnny cake, made stiff and dry, of 
coarse corn meal, but they began to get 
sick, so changed to dry food, consisting 
of cracked wheat, millet, beef scraps and 
grit, but the chicks got no better, so now 
we are using just wheat and grit. They 
have lettuce every day and often young 
vegetables — tops and all. Until about a 
week ago they were kept by themselves 
in wire pens, but as an experiment my 
husband let them out to run, and still 
they get sick. They do not all die, as I 
bring them to the house as soon as we 
find the sick ones, but from one to seven 
die nearly every day. They have fresh 
water every morning. I do not try to 
doctor them, but just keep them warm. 
I have saved some pretty sick ones in 
that way. They are such a bother, and 
we have lost so many in that way. The 
flock which is the most affected had a 
habit of huddling when they were small, 
until they would sweat and sometimes 
die. Do you suppose that could have 
anything to do with the present trou- 
bles?— Mrs. F. L. 



Answer — Limber neck is due to a dis- 
order of the neryous system and is usu- 
ally the result of disturbances of the di- 
gestive organs from severe attacks of 
indigestion or from infestation with 
worm parasites. Chicks are sometimes 
affected in this manner by unusually hot 
days and nights. I think very probably 
their digestive organs were weakened by 
being overheated when they huddled, 
and I would give the whole flock plenty 
of charcoal to eat, with plenty of green 
food and animal food, and no millet, as 
millet is very hard to digest. Give the 
sick birds a small piece of gum asa- 
foetida, about the size of a green pea. 
Repeat the dose the second day. This 
will usually cure. Feed them with bruised 
garlic or with chopped up onions. Give 
them grit or very coarse sand in boxes 
to assist in the digestion, and I think 
you will have no further trouble. 

It is possible that your chickens have 
worms. You had better open the next 
one that dies and examine it, and if you 
find it infected, give the others turpen- 
tine in the drinking water, half a tea- 
spoonful to a pint of water (giving no 
other drinking water) or if you prefer 
it, give a teaspoonful of castor oil with 
ten drops of turpentine in it to each sick 
chick. The chickens dislike the turpen- 
tine in the water, but it will kill the 
common round worms if continued for a 
week. 



Liver Troubles or Poison — I want 
your advice and a remedy for my sick 
fowls. The symptoms are briefly stated : 
Grown chickens affected droop for two 
days, comb turns black and they die. 
Have lost nine in two days. 

My chickens have free range, fresh 
water and plenty of barnyard scratching 
with Egyptian corn every night. — 
C. V. N. 

Answer — The symptoms you describe 
denote either liver trouble or poison. 
In your case I think perhaps it is poi- 
son, either from rat poison, gopher or 
some poisonous weed. You had better 
hold a post mortem examination on the 
next one that dies and then you will be 
able to tell just what the trouble is. 



Liver Disease — The liver is the larg- 
est and most important organ in the 
fowl's body. It not only prepares the 
bile which is poured into the intestines 
to assist digestion, but it acts also as a 
germ destroyer, and assists in some of 
the necessary chemical changes which 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



171 



take place in the blood. This organ con- 
tains numerous blood vessels and 
through it passes a large quantity of 
blood. It is particularly subject to the 
attacks of various kinds of parasites. 
Most of these parasites probably find 
their way to the liver through the blood 
channels, lodge in the minute blood ves- 
sels and multiply there. It is especially 
liable to congestion, which frequently 
occurs from errors in feeding, or other 
causes of intestinal irritation. 



Congestion of the Liver — A lack of 
exercise, combined with overfeeding, is 
the most frequent cause of congestion 
of the liver. It also results from the 
overuse of stimulating condiments and 
the persistent feeding of many of the 
so-called "egg foods" to birds closely 
housed and yarded. Most of the cases 
of liver trouble are, however, due to 
the overfeeding of a ration too rich in 
starch elements, such as too large an 
amount of potatoes or bread. 

The early symptoms of congested liver 
are not always recognized, as the bird's 
condition may not be suspected. There 
is at first a lack of color in the bird's 
comb and wattles, followed by a watery 
diarrhoea, dark at first, but changing 
to yellow. The plumage is rough and 
dull. Then the color of comb and wat- 
tles begins to change to a dark red or 
purple, often becoming nearly black. The 
fowl is usually fat at this stage. 

Treatment — If the early symptoms are 
noted and properly treated, most cases 
will recover. As the cause is largely one 
of ill-balanced rations and feeding, with 
insufficient exercise, a change must be 
made in this. Give twelve tablets of 
nux vomica and sulphur comp. 2x in 
each pint of drinking water. Feed plenty 
of fresh green stuff and some cooked 
meat. Keep up this treatment for a 
week, then turn the bird out in a grass 
range if possible ; otherwise give the 
birds as scratching material the waste 
from an alfalfa haymow and allow them 
only a little grain (wheat) and make 
them scratch hard for that. 



Inflammation of the Liver — Inflam- 
mation of the liver is really the stage 
following congestion. The causes are 
the same, and the symptoms also, only 
increased in every way. There is little 
satisfaction in treating a case that has 
drifted into inflammation. The liver tis- 
sues are permanently injured and that 
organ is unfit to perform its duties. 



Treatment — Treat these cases, if at 
all, by clearing out the bowels with a 
dose of castor oil or sulphate of mag- 
nesia, following this by nux vomica, as 
in the congestion of the liver. Feed 
lightly, depending upon bran and clover 
with a little cooked meat and a free 
range of grass. 



Naked Chicks — Thinking perhaps 
you can help us, I will ask you for a 
little of your time. Late in October we 
bought a hen caring for thirty chicks. 
We have fed them cracked corn, meat 
scraps, plenty of green stuff, charcoal 
and grit. They feathered out, but since 
many of them have become bald, and 
the feathers fall from their neck and 
they are growing thin, still their wing 
feathers are long, making them look 
very queer. They are not incubator 
chicks, and we have examined them 
closely for mites, have dusted them for 
lice and they are quite free from either. 
What do you think is the cause and 
what can we do for them? — H. A. S. 

Answer — Your chickens are huddling 
at night, crowding too closely together. 
This makes them sweat and their feath- 
ers fall out. Put a little carbolated vase- 
line on their heads and cut the feathers 
of their wings as close as you can with- 
out making them bleed. Give them 
wheat and more meat in their food and 
try to prevent their crowding at night. 
It is the crowding and lack of wheat in 
the food, lack of protein, that prevents 
the feathers growing, and the sweating 
makes them fall out and will make the 
chickens thin. 



Ovarian Tumor — I had a nice Or- 
pington hen ; she had been laying each 
day and appeared to be perfectly 
healthy; comb red, went around seem- 
ing quite well. I feed cracked corn and 
wheat, table scraps, and the chickens 
have good range and plenty of good 
food. About four days agothe Orping- 
ton appeared to be lame in the right 
leg. I caught her, examined the foot 
and leg, could see nothing wrong and 
she continued lame, and with difficulty 
got on the nest. To all appearances the 
leg was broken, as it was harder for her 
to walk each day. Rather than see her 
suffer I had her killed. I dissected her: 
she was very fat with an abundance of 
eges, one soft shell. I found in the 
right side of the back a growth about 
the size of a pigeon egg, which appeared 
to be part of the egg bag. The liver and 



172 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



other organs appeared to be healthy. I 
hope that you may be able to tell _ me 
what the growth was and if there is a 
cure for it, in case any of the other hens 
have such symptoms. The hen was about 
two and a half years old. Would age 
have a tendency to hinder her? — Mrs. 
H. R. B. 

Answer — Your hen had what is called 
an ovarian tumor. The trouble is very 
common, and yet we don't know very 
much about it. I am inclined to think 
that if investigations covering a large 
number of fowls kept under a variety of 
conditions were made, it would be found 
that cases of tumor like this are more 
abundant among fowls kept closely con- 
fined, or fed heavily for egg production, 
than among those kept under more nat- 
ural conditions. It is quite reasonable 
also to suppose that the offspring of 
hens heavily forced for egg production 
would show weakness of the reproduc- 
tive system, resulting in diseases of this 
character. It possibly also may come 
from an injury of some kind. Undoubt- 
edly some strains or families are more 
subject to it than others. There is no 
cure for it and the only preventive is to 
keep the hens healthy and busy. 



moved in the same way by clipping the 
hair off and rubbing the small horns. 
This has to be done when the calf is 
only a few days old. 

I have always removed the spurs by 
sawing them off and then filing down 
the rough edges. 



To Remove Spurs — The English 
method of removing spurs : to success- 
fully remove spurs from an old bird it is 
necessary to have a couple of baked po- 
tatoes fresh, from the oven ; first take a 
long strip of damp rag, wind this around 
the bird's shank, both under and above 
the spur, so that the potato will not burn 
the bird's leg. Next take one of the hot 
potatoes and place it upon the spur, 
driving the spur well home. Allow the 
hot potato to remain upon the spur for 
five or six minutes, then remove the po- 
tato and with a sharp pen knife nick 
? round the base of the spur, then insert 
the point of the knife in the point of the 
spur and gently pull, when the whole of 
the outer shell will come away. The 
next thing to do is to shave off the point 
of the remaining spur and the bird will 
be much better and safer for breeding 
purposes. 

This English plan does not appeal to 
me. but as it is a novelty I give it. 

The Eastern way of removing spurs, 
or young calves' horns : Take vaseline 
and oil around the root of the spur, take 
a stick of caustic, moisten and rub the 
points thoroughly. This has to be done 
when the birds are young, say six 
months old. The calves' horns are re- 



Overfat Hens — I have about two 
dozen Buff Orpington hens and have 
had no eggs for four months. They 
appear as healthy as can be. For some 
time I fed them wheat twice a day and 
the table scraps. I began to think I 
was not feeding the proper foods; then 
I got bran and an egg maker and also 
bought cabbage for them and still no 
eggs. They, have lots of exercise and 
gravel and are so fat you cannot eat 
them. Please tell me what to do to re- 
duce the fat. The past two weeks I 
have been giving them just the scraps 
from the table. Tell me, is that the 
proper method to reduce fat? — Mrs. 
A. C. S. 

Answer — Your hens are so fat that 
they cannot lay. The whole inside of 
them is filled full of fat so the eggs 
cannot pass down the egg duct. The 
best plan would be to kill and eat, or 
sell the fowls, because they will not 
make satisfactory layers after being so 
fat. 

However, if you wish to keep them, 
your only plan will be not to give any 
grain, or any table scraps until they are 
reduced in fat ; give only green alfalfa 
or lawn clippings, for two weeks, then 
commence and feed half an ounce of 
meat per hen per day "and lawn clip- 
pings ; no grain or bread, and in about 
a month they may begin to lay. 



Pendulous Crop — I have a hen, and 
its crop hangs down so far that when it 
walks its feet are always hitting it. We 
cut it open once and only the corn and 
feed it had eaten came out of it. I have 
thought I would kill it, but I was afraid 
it might be a tumor and that the hen 
would not be fit to eat. She seems 
healthy otherwise. 

Answer — Your hen has a pendulous 
crop. This is usually caused by over- 
feeding of mash at some time in her life. 
It sometimes can be cured by a surgical 
operation. I would advise you to kill 
and eat the hen, as in time the crop will 
become sore. You can easily see before 
you eat it if a tumor has developed, in 
which case bury it. 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



173 



Poisoning — For some time I have 
read your articles and know that you 
are different from the majority of poul- 
try writers, in this, that you know what 
you are writing about. I wish to ask 
you to please tell me what is ailing a 
fine White Wyandotte cock I have. He 
has been ailing about two months. He 
was just starting in the moult when he 
commenced looseness of the bowels 
which I cured, when one evening, as I 
came to shut them up, I found him on 
the ground unable to get on the roost ; 
when I lifted him on the roost he fell 
as though dizzy and tumbled over and 
over. Ever since that time he has been 
getting worse. Now, with the least ex- 
citement, he will squat on the ground 
and twist his head and neck entirely 
around, often with his bill turned 
straight up. 

Answer — The symptoms you describe 
are those of ptomaine poisoning. This 
is caused by bad meat or bad milk or 
spoilt beef scraps. Also by musty or 
sooty grain and formaline. The treat- 
ment is : Give a pill of asafoetida about 
the size of a pea every night for a week ; 
for the same length of time put bicar- 
bonate of soda in the water, about a tea- 
spoonful to a quart of water; give him 
some charcoal in the feed and avoid 
feeding whatever is causing the trouble. 

The preservative which butchers put 
on the meat acts as a poison and many 
fine birds have been lost by this without 
the owners discovering the trouble. It 
seems to partly paralyze the bird. 



Ptomaine Poison — I am in great trou- 
ble and come to you for advice. My 
splendid White Leghorn chickens are 
dying like flies and I do not know the 
cause nor what to do for them. 

Today I lost ten and I am afraid I 
may lose the whole lot of them. I opened 
several to see if I could find the cause, 
but they look all right, with the excep- 
tion of the crop, which has nothing in it 
but wind or air. The chickens are seem- 
ingly all right, and suddenly they will 
lie down, put their heads under their 
bodies, and after a while they will die. 

My chickens have plenty of exercise, 
lots of green food, grit and running wa- 
ter. They can run at will all over the 
ranch, and I feed them, some every day. 
I am putting some pulverized asafoetida 
in their mash as a disinfectant. My 
chicken house is new and in good order. 
—Mrs. K. C. Polasky. 



Answer — Sudden symptoms such as 
you describe come from poison of some 
kind which brings on an attack of acute 
indigestion. The difficulty is to decide 
what the poison is and where the chick- 
ens get it. 

I think your chickens, being on free 
range, are finding and eating putrid ani- 
mal food of some kind and that they are 
suffering from ptomaine poison. 

Rotten vegetables or moulded grain 
or vegetables have the same effect, al- 
though that is from a fungoid poison. 

The treatment in either case would be 
about the same. First remove the poi- 
son from the ranch, look for any dead 
chicken, bird, gopher, etc., and bury 
deeply or burn. Continue the asafoetida 
in the mash, but also add a teaspoonful 
of castor oil for each chick the first 
morning, and in every mash for some 
time to come put powdered charcoal and 
sulphur, a quarter of a teaspoonful to 
each chick. 



Poison — I thank you very much for 
your kind advice. I feed now as you 
direct me, with fairly good results. The 
beef scrap, of which I send you a sam- 
ple, I bought at , and it killed 

my chickens. 

I fed it to different flocks at differ- 
ent times with the same result and I 
am positive it is this beef scrap and 
nothing else that poisoned my chickens. 
I wonder how many people have lost 
chickens through these same people who 
sold to me. Perhaps they sell good 
scrap sometimes, but this is bad and 
smells bad. 

What is the best way to feed rabbits 
to hens ? I cannot grind them in a bone 
cutter, can I ? — J. H. 

Answer — The beef scrap that you sent 
me certainly does not smell at all good. 
It often occurs in the summer that beef 
scrap that may have been good earlier 
in the year has become moist or heated 
and a poison has developed in it, so in 
the summer I advise poultry raisers to 
buy it only in small quantities and try 
to have it as sweet as possible. 

You know I feared it was the beef 
scrap and so advised you to use milk 
and wild game and to avoid the beef 
scrap. You will have to skin the rabbits 
or squirrels, and then you can surely 
grind them up in your bone cutter or if 
you cannot, you might hack them up 
with a hatchet on a block of wood, or 
you can boil them and let the hens peck 
the meat off and then chop the bones up 



174 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



on the block. The hens will come run- 
ning when they hear that hatchet chop- 
ping. I have had them running a quar- 
ter of a mile to get the bones that were 
flying off the hatchet. The rabbit and 
squirrel bones chop very easily and the 
hens do love them. 



Poison — I want to know what is the 
matter with my friend's chickens. They 
are a mixed flock, one year old, all lay- 
ing. They are fed on scraps or garbage. 

The first thing she noticed they were 
on the roost hanging their heads down 
as far as they could stretch. Then they 
fall on the ground and run their heads 
out as far as they can, and die three or 
four days later. She has lost seven- 
teen. — Mrs. F. 

Answer — This is what is called "lim- 
ber neck," and comes from poisoning by 
bad (putrid) meat, fish, or garbage that 
is mouldy. Tell your friend to put a lit- 
tle bicarbonate of soda in the drinking- 
water — a small teaspoonful to a quart — 
and to give also ground charcoal in the 
food and give each hen that is so af- 
fected a dose of either Epsom salts (half 
a teaspoonful) dissolved in water, or a 
teaspoonful of castor oil. 



Mildew Poison — Will you kindly an- 
swer the following questions : My 
White Leghorns are dying from bowel 
trouble. Two were sick for two days. 
I have noticed this since I began feeding 
a dark variety of wheat or mildewed 
wheat. The hens have not laid well and 
their combs are dark. I think it is the 
wheat. Will you please tell me a rem- 
edy? Do you think it is the wheat? — 
Mrs. J. W. H. 

Answer — Mildew is poisonous to fowls 
and the wheat you are feeding them is 
killing them. Stop giving them that 
wheat, and give them a little charcoal 
in their food and also a little carbonate 
of soda in their drinking water, about a 
half-teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda 
to a quart of drinking water. But there 
will be no use of doctoring if you keep 
on feeding them the poisonous wheat. 



Pip — I have read your remarks care- 
fully for over a year, but do not remem- 
ber anything about pip. All my flock 
have it, one year and three days old. 
How do they get it? Is it hereditary? 
If so, is it in the strain or the breed, 
White Wyandottes? Is it fatal? If so, 
in what time? What is your treatment? 



Thanking you for your reply, I am, 
very respectfully. — W. H. 

Answer — I have not seen a genuine 
case of "pip" for many a long year — in 
fact, never in California. The poultry 
medical books here assert that it is only 
a symptom of a disease and not a dis- 
ease at all ; that it is only a dryness of 
the tongue produced by feverishness and 
rapid breathing. However, I well re- 
member the disease at my grandmoth- 
er's, in Europe, and there the cure was 
very simple. 

The pip there was a real disease. It 
was a small horn or scale that grew on 
the end of the tongue. The tip of it 
was quite sharp, almost like a thorn, 
and the edges were almost as sharp as 
a knife. The sharp point and edges 
seem to prevent the fowls from picking 
up and swallowing the grain and they 
die of starvation. 

When we noticed a hen which drop- 
ped the grain we examined her and if 
we found a hard, sharp scale on the tip 
of the tongue we would remove it with 
the thumb nail, scaling it off, commenc- 
ing under the tip of the tongue. Then 
we touched the spot with borax and 
honey and gave the hen a dose of Ep- 
som salts, about a quarter of a teaspoon- 
ful, or a lump of very salt butter. We 
fed soft food for a few days. The hens 
recovered quickly. 



Poisoned — Yesterday morning I found 
nine big chickens in my yard dead and 
about twelve more are dying. What is 
the cause? They sit on the ground, do 
not eat and the head hangs loose on the 
ground. The comb is dark and in the 
throat is a sticky slime like white mucil- 
age. No bad smell ; sometimes they 
jump a foot and lie down again. I fear 
they will all die. To a few I gave a tea- 
spoonful of olive oil, and to some others 
fresh milk. I cannot imagine what it is. 

Other fowls in the next yard are not 
affected, and all had the same food. — 
Mrs. F. C. P. 

Answer — Your chickens have limber 
necks from ptomaine poisoning. Give 
the whole flock hypo-sulphite of soda ; 
dissolve one teaspoonful in a quart of 
drinking water. And to each chicken 
that is affected give a piece of asafoetida 
about the size of a green pea. Use the 
gum form, and repeat the dose the sec- 
ond day. This disease usually comes 
from severe attacks of indigestion, 
caused by eating bad animal food, or the 



CAUSE AND CURE OE SICKNESS 



175 



decaying carcass of a dead animal. 
Putrid meat or putrid milk will cause it. 



Rheumatism — I have a White Ply- 
mouth Rock hen about eight months 
old, which seems to have rheumatism. 
She is very fat, and a few days ago she 
walked lame in one leg and the next 
morning she was lame in both legs and 
now she cannot stand erect, but walks 
and crawls on her legs, the legs being 
drawn up under her so that in moving 
around she does not seem to be able to 
straighten out her legs, but moves with 
them underneath, from the knee down 
being flat on the ground. Can you tell 
me what is the matter, and a remedy? 
— W. A. B. 

Answer — I am afraid your hen has 
rheumatism from liver trouble, brought 
on by overfeeding, with insufficient ex- 
ercise, and I cannot hold out any hope 
of a cure at her age. If she is not 
feverish, she would be good for the ta- 
ble, but being very fat, and with this 
rheumatic tendency, she would never 
make a good layer, and the hatchet is 
the only cure for her. For the rest of 
the flock, give them Epsom salts in the 
drinking water for a week, and bicar- 
bonate of soda for a second week ; in- 
crease the amount of green food and 
meat, and cut in half the amount of 
grain, and let all of the grain be fed in 
the scratching pen to induce exercise. 



spoonful to each quart of water, or sali- 
cylic acid, one grain a day, has given 
good results, but the iodide is the best 
and most satisfactory. Give plenty of 
green food. 



Rheumatism in the Feet — I have a 
very fine Buff Leghorn rooster and he 
seems to have rheumatism in his feet. 
Do you know any cure? — Mrs. J. M. S. 

Answer — Rheumatism may result from. 
long exposure to cold and moisture ; it 
may be produced by overfeeding of 
meat ; induced through the underfeeding 
of vegetable food and is helped along by 
previous rheumatic tendencies of an- 
cestors. 

Treatment — Bathe the feet and shanks 
with the following: One cupful of vine- 
gar, one of turpentine and a heaping 
teaspoonful of saltpeter, mix in a bottle 
and shake well before using. For in- 
ternal treatment there is no better rem- 
edy than iodide of potassium. This is 
given in the drinking water, fifteen 
grains of iodide of potassium to every 
quart of water. Give in small dishes, so 
that it all may be used while fresh and 
thus avoid waste from having to throw 
away any because it is mixed with dirt. 
Common cooking soda, one level tea- 



Roup, Bronchitis, Pneumonia — (F. 
M. C, California) — Can you favor me 
with a little information which I fail 
to locate in your valuable book and it 
covers the ground very well. On a cold 
and windy night, two weeks ago, a care- 
less boy left a window open in a house, 
allowing a strong draft to blow on my 
precious four-months-old pullets. Con- 
sequence, about half of them (586 all 
told) came down with bad colds. Some 
developed roupy catarrh, others eyes 
swelled close shut. Sprayed nostrils 
with glycothermoline and carbolic acid. 
No good effect noted. Put roup cure in 
drinking water and dipped head in same. 
Majority are improving. There is one 
phase of disease that puzzles me, and of 
course it attacks the largest and finest 
pullets. They seem to have difficulty in 
getting their breath. Act like a chick 
with the gaps. Open their mouths and 
gasp with a strained, worried look on 
their faces. Live about twelve hours and 
die choking to death in one last con- 
vulsion. These so affected have not so 
much odor at nostrils as majority. No 
mucous spots in throat. Throat seems to 
be full of phlegm. Don't eat at all. 
Spraying throat with glyco-thermoline 
and acid, and painting with iodine or 
running feather saturated with coal oil 
down windpipe offers no relief what- 
ever. No one around me seems to know 
of any remedy. If you can diagnose it 
and suggest a remedy, will appreciate it 
greatly, as I hate to lose chickens when 
they get this old, and I put great faith 
in your suggestions. 



Answer — I sympathize most sincerely 
with you in your trouble from your 
beautiful pullets taking cold, and wish 
I could help you. I think you have been . 
doing all that was possible. You see, 
hens are very much like human beings. 
One person will have neuralgia from a 
draught, while another will have a sore 
throat, and while from the same cause 
one may have catarrh, in another the 
trouble will be bronchitis or even pneu- 
monia. Now, I think with your pullets, 
some of them have catarrh, others swell 
heads, and with others the catarrh has 
gone down lower into the bronchial 
tubes and possibly into the lungs them- 
selves. 



176 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



Now as to treatment. If I remember 
rightly, the roup cure you are using is 
made principally of permanganate of 
potash and bluestone (sulphate of cop- 
per). Both of these are excellent germ- 
icides and by killing the germa of the 
catarrh or roup, they prevent their mul- 
tiplying, and give nature a chance to re- 
cuperate. I think, though, the roup cure 
is more effective than the severer medi- 
cines, such as turpentine and carbolic 
acid, so I now recommend that your 
roup cure be given in the drinking wa- 
ter, at the same time dipping the head 
in the same. Or you can put one cupful 
of kerosene oil into two parts of water. 
The oil will float on top ; dip the fowl's 
head slowly under this, holding it there 
while you count three. It will sneeze 
and cough and you must wipe off the 
'mucus with a rag and burn the rag. 

With some of the fowls the catarrh 
will go deeper and for these I think the 
peroxide of hydrogen, spraying the 
throat well, is the best, giving always 
the permanganate of potash and blue- 
stone in the drinking water. 

For those that have developed bron- 
chitis or where you think the bronchitis 
may be just commencing, give aconite, 
one drop in a teaspoonful of milk, twice 
or three times a day. The symptoms 
you describe are exactly those of bron- 
chitis, so I feel confident in recommend- 
ing the aconite. Dr. Woods recommends 
the "Aconite, Bryonia and Spongis mix- 
ture," but I have not tried it. The mix- 
ture is "ten drops of the tincture of each 
in an ounce of alcohol. Use a teaspoon- 
ful of this in a quart of drinking wa- 
ter." I think this might be very useful, 
especially ' at the commencement of a 
cold or bronchitis. Dr. Woods says that 
two doses will often effect a cure. Or 
you can get this in tablet form at the 
drug store. The tablet (1-100 of a grain 
in strength) can be given one to each 
bird two or three times a day or twelve 
tablets in each pint of drinking water. 

I have found a teaspoonful of honey 
with five drops of eucalyptus oil, twice 
a day, to be an excellent cure. The 
honey is very soothing and is also nour- 
ishing and sustaining. Bronchitis is a 
very debilitating illness and the fowl 
should be fed only liquid nourishment, 
such as raw egg beaten up with half the 
amount of milk, about two teaspoonsful 
every two or three hours. I have given 
a tablespoonful of milk or milk with 
honey mixed. I have a small "invalid 
drinking cup ;" it is a narrow cup with a 



spout like a teapot, which I have found 
very useful and handy, as I could insert 
the spout a little ways down the throat 
of the hen and none of the liquid would 
be spilt. A child's toy teapot with a 
rather long spout will answer the pur- 
pose, but an invalid drinking cup, cost- 
ing ten cents, is extremely useful and 
worth many times its price for chickens. 
You can use a dropping tube also for 
administering liquid medicine. I realize 
that with the large number of fowls that 
you have you want an easy and quick 
way of doctoring, and the only way is 
by the drinking water. 

In cases of cold or the cold going 
deeper, as in to bronchitis or pneumonia, 
fowls need very easily digested, light 
and nourishing food. I have found noth- 
ing better than bread and milk. To this 
can be added a little bran, or a few eggs 
can be beaten up with the milk before 
putting in the bread if you think neces- 
sary. You did perfectly right to segre- 
gate the fowls. Colds of all kinds, even 
pneumonia, are infectious. 

I would strongly advise you to house 
your hens in open front houses. In this 
way there would be no draughts from 
windows left open. Open front houses 
are a preventive of both bronchitis and 
pneumonia. 

I have found that the pills or asa- 
foetida and quinine which I recommend 
in my book, if given at the very out- 
break of a cold, frequently cure with one 
dose ; also the mixture, No. S. This is 
Mr. Hunter's old remedy and has been 
found successful by hundreds of people. 



Roup — How to Cure It — I have over 
a hundred hens, all breeds. A good 
many of them are sick; I have tried ev- 
erything, but to date I have not found 
anything to do them good. A yellow, 
hard substance that has a very bad odor 
forms in their mouths and eventually 
in their windpipes and they drop over 
dead. I have lost about thirty inside of 
a month. I feed chopped corn and wheat, 
with plenty of Pratt's chicken food. Use 
Conkey's Roup Cure and bluestone. 
They run at the nose and their eyes 
swell shut ; others look fine, combs red, 
and you would not know anything was 
wrong with them until they fall over 
dead. Can you tell me what is the mat- 
ter with them and what I am to do with 
them? I paid $1.00 apiece for my hens 
and it is hard to see them all die and 
not know what to do for them. — Mrs. 
R. B. 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



177 



Answer — I am very sorry to say that 
it is diphtheritic roup that your hens 
have — very like diphtheria in children. 

It is a germ disease. At first the hens 
take cold and the germ then seems to 
take root and the yellow leather-like 
spots commence to grow and continue 
until they choke the fowls. 

The first thing to do is to separate the 
healthy fowls from those that are sick 
and disinfect the premises thoroughly. 
Discover if possible what is giving the 
fowls a cold. The usual causes of cold 
are a draught in the sleeping room, a 
narrow draught that strikes on the fowls 
as they roost, caused by a crack or a 
knot-hole, or a house that has no venti- 
lation ; too much crowding at night, 
which makes the fowls hot and sweaty, 
and they take cold when they come out 
in the morning fresh air, or roosting 
out side in the rain and dew. Lice will 
also give them cold and will carry in- 
fection from fowl to fowl. When one 
fowl has a cold, the others are very 
likely to catch it from the water, from 
the food or from contact in sleeping on 
the same ptrch. I explain this so you 
may decide for yourself what is causing 
the trouble and may use preventive 
measures and stop their taking cold. 

Now for some cures: See page 105. 

A bit of bluestone (sulphate of cop- 
per) as large as a navy bean, in a quart 
of water, is an excellent remedy and 
preventive. Blue stone is a germ killer 
and when it is in the water it will kill 
the germs that float off the chicken's 
nostrils, and that would infect another 
fowl. It also kills any germs that it 
may reach in the sick fowl's nostrils and 
so dries up the cold in the head. Of 
course it is a strong astringent poison 
and should not be given in stronger doses 
than I have indicated. Also keep those 
pretty bits of blue out of reach of the 
baby. Rub the heads of those that have 
watery eyes with carbolized vaseline and 
put a little into the nostrils and in the 
cleft of the mouth. 

For those that have the white or yel- 
low spots, spray the mouth or swab it 
with peroxide of hydrogen twice a day. 
Use it half and half water. The perox- 
ide of hydrogen kills the diphtheria and 
will prevent its developing. There is a 
possibility that the spots may be canker 
in some cases (those that are apparently 
not very sick) in which case get four 
grains of sulpho-carbolate of zinc, dis- 
solve in one ounce of distilled water and 
paint the spots lightly. This will kill 



the germ of canker. It is not the same 
germ as the diphtheria, and the two 
medicines cannot be mixed, as they may 
be said to neutralize each other. If you 
are not sure which disease it is, you 
might doctor one day with peroxide and 
the following day with the zinc. 

Add to the diet of the fowls onions 
chopped finely, with a teaspoonful of 
cayenne pepper for ? dozen hens, or if 
you can get them, grind up chili pep- 
pers and give a tablespoonful in the food 
or mixed with bran. 



Scaly_ Legs— Will you be so kind as 
to explain what kind of disease my hens 
have? I am a green man in the poultry 
business and bought the hens from sev- 
eral places, with the intention of having 
in the shortest time a sufficient number 
of egg producers. Among the purchased 
birds there were about sixty with scaly 
legs. I inclosed them in a separate yard, 
30 x 40, fed them abundantly, and every 
morning they were urged to pass 
through a tray with coal oil. After ten 
days many of them had legs clean from 
scales, but some became weak and 
droopy. _ They walk with difficulty and 
keep their tails down. They grow worse 
every day. I killed two of them and 
found that about half their bodies were 
covered with yellow scales like a sort of 
bad_ skin which you can easily tear off. 
Is it a contagious disease, and what 
shall I do with the sick birds ? — F. P. 

Answer — Poor hens ; it is not a dis- 
ease. It is the coal oil that wets their 
feathers and that blisters the skin. Those 
that have been much wetted on the 
feathers with the oil are probably too 
badly burned to recover. The others 
will get well in time, but it will greatly 
delay their laying. 

Do not try again such heroic treat- 
ment. It costs you too much. Next 
time mix one spoonful of lard with one 
spoonful of coal oil and one spoonful of 
powdered sulphur ; rub the legs with 
that twice a week. 



Scaly Leg. — Scaly leg does not ap- 
pear without the irritation due to a 
parasitic insect. This parasite comes 
from another fowl, or possibly from an 
infected house or brooder, and works its 
way in between the scales of shanks or 
toes. Scaly leg passes from one dis- 
eased bird to another on the roost or is 
contracted by chicks when with the 
mother hen. A single case of scaly leg 



178 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



on the plant is a source of danger to 
every other bird. 

Scaly leg is so easily cured that no 
intelligent poultryman is excusable for 
having its presence on his place for over 
a week. Every bird bought should be 
examined for scaly leg, and any doubt- 
ful one receive immediate attention. If 
you at any time find several cases on 
hand I would advise the applying of the 
proper treatment to every bird on the 
place. This is not much trouble and 
prevents the cropping out of new cases 
in a short time. 

Paint the perches with lice killer or 
kerosene and naphthalene flakes. 

Scaly leg comes from the scale mite 
and is very infectious. 



SwELL Head — My chickens are dying 
off awfully. Many of them are good 
sized pullets. Their heads seem to swell 
and they go blind and just drop off. 
Some of them open their mouths and 
stretch and act as though something 
was choking them, but I cannot detect 
anything. They had mites, but have 
none now. We have a good yard for 
them, and an alfalfa patch and some 
shade trees. I feed them well, and am 
at a loss to understand. My neighbors 
on either side of us have the same trou- 
ble.— Mrs. F. K. 

Answer — Your chickens have what is 
called "swell head" and roup. They 
have either caught it from taking cold 
or from the lice which they used" to 
have, or by infection from the neigh- 
bors. I think probably there is a 
draught in their sleeping quarters, from 
a crack or a knot hole or it may be 
wrong ventilation. Stop these up and be 
sure the chickens do not live or sleep 
in a draught. Rub their heads with 
carbolated vaseline, and give each of 
those affected a quinine pill every other 
night for a week, and add a little poul- 
try tonic to their food. I think as soon 
as you stop whatever may be the cause 
of their taking cold you will have no 
further trouble. Be sure to keep the 
sick fowls away from the balance of the 
flock. 



Answer — Your chickens and turkeys 
have lice and are taking cold. They 
are taking cold from either sleeping in 
a draught or sleeping in a place that is 
too close and hot, so they take cold 
when they come out in the morning. 
Remedy the cause and use one of the 
many roup cures, and also get rid of 
the lice. Lice go to the eyes to drink 
and so spread the disease. 



Eyes Swelled Shut and Water — 

Will you kindly tell me the cause of 

sore eyes? My chickens' eyes swell 

shut and water. I also have turkeys ; 

their eyes swell underneath. — Mrs. C. 
J. N. 



ToE Eating — Can you tell me what 
causes little chicks to pick at each oth- 
ers toes? They will pick at one till 
the blood comes, then so many chase it 
that it dies. Then they start on an- 
other and sometimes they even eat the 
entrails out. I bought my chickens 
when they were a week old and fed 
them according to your directions. I 
first fed raw meat and cooked, then I 
tacked pieces on a board to keep them 
busy, but nothing seemed to stop them, 
and I took the one out with the sore 
toes. I gave lime and salts and char- 
coal. I hatched some dark colored chicks 
in my own incubator and with them I 
have not had any trouble in any way. I 
trust that you can help me.— H .L. 

Answer — It is usually with the white 
or light colored chicks that we have 
this trouble. The little toes are so at- 
tractive and look so very good to eat 
that a lively chick will often try to taste 
his neighbor's toe and it tastes so good 
that he continues the performance and 
soon teaches the others. Dark toes are 
not so attractive looking, hence their im- 
munity. You did quite right to add 
more meat and even a little salt to their 
diet, but the best way of preventing the 
trouble is to give the chicks chaff at 
least an inch deep in the nursery of 
their brooder. I have found that alfalfa 
hay or wheat hay cut in a clover cutter 
an inch in length make very good chaff 
for the chicks. I scatter the chick feed 
a little at a time, three times a day, in 
this, and the chicks scratch in it and 
find the grains and at the same time it 
conceals their toes from their hungry 
brothers. In this way you not only pre- 
vent this vice, but you make the chicks 
scratch many hours a day and that 
broadens their backs and develops the 
egg organs and strengthens their diges- 
tion, keeps them out of mischief, healthy, 
happy and busy. ■ Try this plan and you 
will be surprised to find what extra fine 
layers you will have next year. 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



179 



Tuberculosis — A year ago I had the 
nicest Black Minorcas that anybody ever 
laid eyes on, but, alas, one after the oth- 
er I had to kill. First they get lame on 
one foot, then their combs get very dark, 
almost black on the points ; their appe- 
tite is poor and they get as light as a 
feather, and when I cut them open their 
liver almost fills up their whole insides, 
and the whole liver is thoroughly sprin- 
kled with little white kernels ; some- 
times as big as a good sized head of a 
pin, sometimes as large as five cents, 
and I attend to them so good. Now, can 
you tell me what disease it is and how to 
prevent it after this? I feed lots of green 
stuff, milk, meat, wheat, barley and oc- 
casionally a mash of lots of carrots. — 
Mrs. M. R. 

Answer — I am sorry to say your Mi- 
norcas have chicken tuberculosis. You 
gave an accurate description of the dis- 
ease, and I am very sorry to have to tell 
you that there is no cure for it when 
once it has commenced. You may be 
able to prevent the young ones catching- 
it by moving them on to fresh ground, 
and thoroughly disinfecting the yards 
and coops. Send a postal to the Experi- 
ment Station, University of California, 
for the bulletin on "chicken tuberculo- 
sis ;" it is free. 



Tumor and Dropsy — I had a White 
Leghorn hen die a week ago from an 
ailment which puzzles me. Have looked 
through what poultry books I have, but 
can find nothing touching it. The hen 
was swollen between the legs to an un- 
usual size and got so bad it could not 
walk. Finally it died, and, upon open- 
ing it, at least a quart of water came 
away. The intestines were joined to- 
gether in one solid piece. Can you tell 
me the cause and cure, as I have a Ham- 
burg hen developing the same symptoms 
and would like to save it if possible. — 
J. L. W. 

Answer — Your hen died of dropsy, 
combined with a tumor, probably ovar- 
ian. There is no known cure for this, 
as by the time it becomes visible, the 
disease has progressed too far, and is 
usually only, discovered after death. 
Some hens seem more subject to this 
complaint than others, and I would ad- 
vise you to get in fresh blood and keep 
the hens healthy by feeding an abund- 
ance of green food. The cause is ob- 
scure. 



Vent GlEET — One of my hens and 
tine, large cockerel have a sort of di- 
arrhoea with a very bad smell to it. It 
seems to scald the vent, which is red 
and swollen and there are scabs on it. 
Can you tell me the cause and cure of 
this?— Mrs. J. F. Y. 

Answer — Your hen and probably the 
cockerel also have vent gleet. This is 
usually caused by an egg being broken 
inside the hen, which causes inflamma- 
tion. It is, I am sorry to say, contag- 
ious, and the birds should be at once iso- 
lated and treated. Prepare a warm bath 
of water as hot as can be borne on the 
wrists, in which has been dissolved a 
tablespoonful of bicarbonate of soda to 
two quarts of water. Immerse the 
fowl's abdomen and vent in this hot 
water and hold the bird there from fif- 
teen to twenty minutes. Then dry the 
parts with a clean cloth and give an in- 
jection of an infusion of green tea with 
five grains each of sugar of lead and sul- 
phate of zinc to each ounce of the infu- 
sion, two tablespoonsful being one 
ounce. The sores and ulcers around the 
vent should be kept dusted with iodo- 
form or aristol. Repeat the treatment 
once a day until the bird is cured. A 
dose of thirty grains of Epsom salts will 
help cool the blood. Feed lightly and 
give plenty of green food. If not well 
after two or three weeks, kill the bird, 
as the disease is not quite free from 
danger, for if the operator should touch 
his eyes accidentally before cleaning his 
hands, the result might be a most vio- 
lent inflammation, and the disease is ex- 
tremely contagious among the hens. 
One cockerel may infect all the hens. 

White Comb— My fine Orpington 
rooster is developing a peculiar disease. 
A few months ago he was in the pink 
of perfection, but his comb has be- 
come all covered with white spots, as 
though he had dandruff, and it spoils his 
appearance. I feed your well propor- 
tioned mash, wheat, alfalfa, crushed 
green bone, lettuce and cabbage ; a mash 
every morning and corn or wheat for 
the evening meal. He is vigorous and 
active, the only trouble being with his 
comb. If you will kindly tell me how 
to treat him for this trouble, it will be 
highly appreciated. — E. R. T. 

Answer — Your rooster has what is 
called "White comb." It usually comes 
from close air in the hennery and a 
total absence of all green food. It is a 



180 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



contagious disease and may be impart- 
ed from bird to bird, probably also from 
mice, rats, cats and dogs to birds. Young 
birds appear to be more susceptible to 
this disease than old ones. Put carbo- 
lated vaseline on the comb, and in the 
drinking water use twelve tablets of nux 
vomica and sulphur comp. 2X to each 
pint of water. Continue the treatment 
until cured. 



Wind in Crop — Will you please tell 
me the cause and remedy of my little 
chicks, from three to four weeks old, 
having a gas gather in their crops? 
When the crop is pressed, wind comes 
from their mouth and they stand around 
and gasp, but otherwise do not look 
droopy. They eat well, but in three or 
four days die. I lost quite a number 
last spring, almost every case being fatal. 
I have a hen with young ones and I 



would like to raise them without this 
trouble.— B. C. 

Answer — The wind in the crop comes 
from indigestion. Indigestion comes 
from lice, colds, dirty water, and chief 
of all from wet mashes or from wrong- 
ly balanced food, and lack of hard, sharp 
grit to grind the food. I do not think 
the chicks with the hen, if she is allowed 
free range, will get it, but if there are 
any symptoms of it, put some lime wa- 
ter into the drinking water and give 
them pounded up charcoal. Give them 
.also sweet skim milk to drink, as well 
as water and plenty of nice, crisp lettuce 
to eat. I am sure if you keep them quite 
clean, feed clean dry chick feed with 
plenty of green lettuce, grass or clover, 
cut up fine, you will not have any wind 
on the stomach with your chicks. A lit- 
tle bicarbonate of soda in the drinking 
water will sometimes help, but preven- 
tion is the best cure. 



LICE, MITES, TICKS AND WORMS 



Body Lice — I have about 100 White 
Leghorn chickens and I find that they 
have a large body louse, large yellow 
ones; what can I do to get rid of them? 
I think they are keeping my chickens 
from, laying as they should. — Mrs. B. W. 

Answer — Paint the bottom of a box 
or barrel with a good lice killer ; put a 
little straw in to keep the paint from the 
feathers, then put the chickens in and 
cover them three hours. Then examine 
the hens and pull out all the feathers 
that have nits (lice eggs) on them, put- 
ting the feathers into a little can of coal 
oil. Then dust the hens with a good in- 
secticide once a week or until you are 
sure all the lice are dead. Be careful to 
give the hens a spot of ground, well 
spaded up, mellow and a little damp. 
They will bathe in this and usually keep 
themselves clean. 



Dipping Hens — Would you be so kind 
as to let me know about dipping hens, 
etc? I have a flock of some five or six 
hundred. I notice some of them have 
lice and bunches of nits on their feath- 
ers. Whenever I have caught a hen I 
have greased her well, but this would 
take too long to go through the bunch. 
Is there any dip that would be strong 
enough, and do no harm to the birds, 



that would kill the nits with one dip- 
ping ? — W. L. 

Answer — Lice axe supposed to hatch 
out the nits every five days, and when 
but_ a few days old commence to lay 
again and so keep on breeding indefinite- 
ly. Dr. Salmon says it has been estimat- 
ed that the second generation from a 
single louse may number 2500 individu- 
als, and the third generation may reach 
the enormous sum of 125,000, and all of 
these may be produced in the course of 
eight weeks. I do not know of any dip 
that will kill the nits with one dipping. 
Dr. Salmon recommends a dip of one 
per cent carbolic acid solution, or using 
creolin, as it is equally efficacious in kill- 
ing insects and is less poison to the 
birds. It is used in the strength of two 
and a half ounces mixed with a gallon 
of water. I have used very successfully 
in the summer time when the weather is 
warm, the _ kerosene emulsion made as 
follows : Dissolve one bar of soap or one 
pound of soap powder in a gallon of 
boiling water; add to it a gallon of coal 
oil, churn for twenty minutes or until 
you wish to use it. Take one quart of 
this top solution and add it to nine 
quarts of water. Dip the hens into this, 
being careful not to allow any of it to 
go into their eyes or mouth, but thor- 
oughly wet every feather to the skin. 



LICE, MITES, TICKS AND WORMS 



181 



This will kill every living louse, and if 
repeated in about five days will prob- 
ably kill those that are hatched out in 
the meantime and prevent their laying 
any more nits. Tobacco water has also 
been strongly recommended as a dip, and 
chloro-naphtholium used as directed on 
the bottle. 



will kill everything it touches. A sat- 
urated solution of salt and vinegar ap- 
plied to the fleas on the chickens' heads 
or bodies will drive them away or kill 
them. 



The Sand Flea— How can I rid my 
chickens from a small insect known here 
is the sand flea? I have tried coal oil 
mixed with lard without effect. The 
hens scratch their heads so they become 
sore and some have died; others have 
had to be killed.— Mrs. F. A. F. 

Answer — Those fleas are very hard to 
get rid of. Spray the henneries well 
with either the kerosene emulsion or 
good hot salt water, and while the 
ground is still wet, scatter on it air- 
slacked lime. Those hens that have sore 
heads should have carbolated salve put 
on them, after swabbing them off with 
corrosive sublimate. This will kill the 
fleas and cure the sores. Be careful not 
to let any of the corrosive sublimate get 
into the eyes or mouth of the fowls. 



Stick Tight Fleas — We have noticed 
a tick or louse on a few of our chick- 
ens and have discovered some of the in- 
sects on the perches. They resemble 
small black beads and are firmly im- 
bedded in the skin. On some of the 
fowls we have used for the table we no- 
ticed a few red blotches on the skin. We 
would like to know how to get rid of 
the insects, particularly how to get them 
out of the hen house. — An Inquirer. 

Answer — You have the stick tight fleas 
in your hennery. They are very hard to 
get rid of, being in some places a perfect 
pest. A friend of mine lost 500 out of 
700 chickens last fall from this. I told 
him to spray very thoroughly with salt 
and water and he purchased 600 lbs. of 
salt, scattered it all over the hennery and 
yards and then turned a hose on them 
for several days in succession. He tells 
me now there is not a stick tight flea 
on the place. I advised him to get some 
corrosive sublimate diluted with alcohol 
at the drug store, take an old tooth brush 
and carefully apply with it the corrosive 
sublimate on any fleas he might see on 
the chickens, being careful not to allow 
any of the solution to get into the chick- 
ens' eyes (it would blind them) or into 
their mouths, as it is very poisonous. 
You can paint the perches with this; it 



Head Lice— This time I write in des- 
peration, hoping you may be able to give 
me a remedy. It is head lice I am fight- 
ing, and after working for almost five 
months, I am as far off from being rid 
of them as at first. I have done every- 
thing that I have ever heard of. I still 
find they have head lice and red mites 
besides. I hope no other beginner has 
had the trials I have had.— Mrs. W. F. K. 

Answer— The red mites live in the 
houses or coops, except when they are 
feeding off the chickens, usually at night 
1 he cure for them is to spray the coops 
thoroughly and constantly. You can 
keep them out of the coops by spraying 
once_ every three weeks, but if they once 
get m, you will have to spray twice a 
week until you get entirely rid of them, 
then once every three weeks, to keep rid 
of them. The head lice live on the heads 
of the chickens. They lay two or three 
white silvery nits (eggs) at the root of 
the feather. The eggs hatch in about 
five days after they are laid by the lice, 
consequently to completely destroy them, 
you should treat the chickens that have 
them at least once a week. The best way 
I know of is to take an old tooth brush, 
a bowl with nice hot soap suds in it and 
a few drops of the best carbolic acid; 
brush the chicken's head with this, being 
sure to touch all the lice and mites. This 
I know, is an excellent remedy, for 1 
have tried it. Another given by a friend 
of mine is, get the druggist to mix some 
corrosive sublimate with the best pure 
alcohol, take the tooth brush and brush 
the chickens' heads with this, being care- 
ful not to let any of this get into the eyes 
(or it will blind them) or into the 
mouth, as it is very poisonous. This will 
not only kill the head lice and their nits, 
but it will also kill stick tight fleas, ticks 
and any insects. It is very difficult when 
once the pests get into henneries or on 
chickens to get rid of them. It is far 
easier to keep the enemy out by constant 
and thorough cleaning at frequent inter- 
vals, especially in the summer time. I 
find using tobacco stems for making the 
nests of setting hens a good prevent- 
ive ; besides this, I see that all the fowls 
have good dust baths in damp and mel- 
low earth. 



182 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



Mites — We are fighting mites, but ap- 
parently with no success. We hired a 
man who makes poultry ranch spraying 
a business. We paid him $10 and he 
guaranteed to rid the place of the pests, 
but they are worse than ever. He uses 
lime, sulphur and carbolic acid. Is there 
any way corrosive sublimate could be 
used as a spray, and would it be safe for 
the hens in the houses? How long would 
the hens need to be kept out after the 
spraying was done? Am having the 
worst possible luck with my chickens. 
Have probably hatched 550 chickens this 
year and have less than 200 now. When 
a week to ten days old they begin to 
droop, refuse to eat and starve to death. 
What is the matter ? No bowel trouble ; 
no cold ; no lice, or only a few. Does 
cholera ever attack such young chickens, 
and if cholera, would they not have 
bowel trouble? Would greatly appreci- 
ate an immediate answer, as the mites 
get all over me and drive me nearly 
frantic. — Perplexed. 

Answer— The thing that is killing 
your little chickens is not cholera, other- 
wise they would have bowel trouble ; it 
is only the swarms of mites. If they 
drive you nearly frantic, think how the 
chicks must suffer. The mites simply 
drain the life out of them. The _ cor- 
rosive sublimate can be put on with a 
spray, but it is dangerous to do so, as 
if it splatters into the person's eyes who 
is spraying, it may blind him for life. 
One pound of this costs $1.25 and that 
is sufficient to make 120 gallons of the 
solution. As it takes some time to dis- 
solve in water, it is usual to dissolve it 
in alcohol. I have used it dissolved in 
alcohol to paint henneries and nest box- 
es, and it will destroy all insect life. 
You must turn the hens out of your 
henneries for several hours, or until the 
walls are dry. 

Insect Powder— Mrs. C. B. F., Los 
Gatos— I do not think the "flea powder" 
you mention would kill the little tur- 
keys, but as you ask what I use, I will 
tell you. It is here called "Buhach," and 
can be bought at any of the poultry sup- 
ply houses. It is made from the "Pyr- 
rethrum" daisy and is perfectly harmless 
to all fowls, from tiny canaries to mam- 
moth turkeys, but deadly to insects. It 
contains a small quantity of an essential 
oil which asphyxiates all insects, fleas, 
ants, lice, etc. It must be kept in an air- 
tight jar or tin box, as the essential oil 
easily evaporates. Next in value come 



the insect powders, the foundation of 
which is tobacco dust. 

The kind of lice that are so deadly to 
little turkeys are the same as the head 
lice of chickens. They are to be found 
on the heads and necks of the turkeys, 
and also on the large feathers at the 
edge of the wing. They seem to sap 
the life out of the turkeys. I always rub 
the "Buhach" powder well into the down 
on the head and at the roots of the wing 
feathers, whether they have signs of lice 
or not, for it is better to be sure than 
sorry. 



Ticks — In trouble again. We are 
renting a place until we can build on 
our own, and every building on it is sim- 
ply alive with little brown ticks ; they 
bury themselves in the heads of the 
chickens, the ears of the dogs, the feet 
of the animals and all over our bodies. 
What shall I do ? Please tell me and tell 
me quick. A neighbor says lard and car- 
bolic acid on their heads and spray with 
distillate, but neither seems to do any 
good so far. I am out of the chicken 
business since moving here, except a 
few for our own use. Yours sincerely. 
-J. J- w. 

Answer — The easiest way to get rid 
of them is to pour coal oil over the 
buildings and then set fire to them, but 
as you are in a rented place, that would 
scarcely be possible. The next best plan 
is to paint the place thoroughly with 
corrosive sublimate ; it is what I recom- 
mended to you for the plague mites at 
your other place. Ticks are one of the 
worst plagues in Southern California. 
They are so thin and flat that they hide 
between the singles and boards. They 
really are not thicker than a bit of paper, 
and nothing kills them but the corrosive 
sublimate (bi-chloride of mercury). This 
can either be put on with a brush or be 
sprayed on the houses. You remember 
that it is very poisonous, and great care 
must be used in handling it. When 
once your coops are free of ticks, or 
other vermin, you can keep them so by 
spraying with kerosene emulsion that I 
have so often given. Distillate, liquid 
lice killer, coal tar and other prepara- 
tions of carbolic acid or creosote are all 
good to keep out vermin, but I know 
they will not drive out ticks. 



Depluming Mites — Two years ago I 
started to raise White Leghorns, com- 
mencing with two cocks and twelve pul- 
lets of as good strain as I could secure 



LICE, MITES, TICKS AND WORMS 



183 



at the time. This spring I had a splen- 
did looking flock of 100 females and 
twelve males. They were beauties, but 
recently developed the feather-pulling 
habit and are now a sight. Never in 
moulting time have I seen poultry look 
worse. Many of the hens look as though 
plucked for market, and not one of the 
roosters has a vestige of tail. The hens 
still keep up laying as well as before 
(from fifty to sixty-five daily), but I 
cannot believe this will hold out in their 
present condition. 

I have them on a two-acre range and 
feed them cut green bone in large quan- 
tities four times a week in addition to 
all the other grains obtainable. My ex- 
perience can only suggest two causes 
for such a state of affairs: 1, Insufficient 
animal food. 2, Close confinement. But 
neither of these causes enters into the 
present state of affairs. Can you ad- 
vance a reason and suggest a remedy? 
By so doing you will greatly oblige one 
who is getting interested in raising fine . 
looking birds. — F. S. S., Tucson, Ariz. 

Answer — Your birds have what is 
called "Depluming mites." The principal 
symptom of this trouble is a loss of 
feathers from spots of various sizes, sit- 
uated on different parts of the b~ J v. 
The feathers break off at the surface _ 
the skin, and at the root of the feather is 
seen a small mass of epidermic scales 
which is easily crushed into powder. A 
microscopic examination of this powder 
reveals numerous mites and the debria 
which they produce. 

The disease appears in poultry yards 
as a consequence of the introduction of 
one or more birds already affected. It 
is readily communicated, develops rapid- 
ly and in a few days a whole flock is 
contaminated. It usually begins on the 
rump and spreads rapidly to the back, 
the thighs and the belly. An infested 
cock will rapidly infest all the fowls in 
a poultry yard. Often the head and the 
upper surface of the neck are affected 
early in the course of the disease. The 
feathers fall off at all these points and 
finally the skin is denuded over a a large 
extent of surface. The large feathers 
of the tail and wings and the wing co- 
verts are generally retained. 

The denuded skin presents a normal 
appearance; it is smooth and soft, of a 
pinkish color and not perceptibly thick- 
ened. By pulling out the feathers which 
remain near the invaded parts, it is easy 
to find, with fowls, a mass of epidermic 
scales at the end of the quill, which con- 



tains a number of parasites. The gen- 
eral health of the birds is apparently not 
disturbed. They remain in good flesh 
and continue to lay as though they were 
not affected. It seems probable that 
much of the irregular moulting, feather- 
pulling and feather eating are due to the 
irritation caused by the Sacroptes 
Laevis. 

The treatment for this is not very 
difficult, but must be persisted in until 
a cure is effected. Carbolic salve should 
be rubbed over the affected portions ot 
the skin and the adjacent parts, or a 
salve may be made by mixing one part 
of carbolic salve, one part of flour of 
sulphur, one part of powdered aloes with 
ten parts of lard or vaseline. 

A large surface of the body should 
not be covered with strong carbolic acid 
preparations, on account of the danger 
of absorption and poisoning. The af- 
fected parts of the body may be rubbed 
every fourth day until a cure is effected. 
It is well to finish the treatment by dip- 
ping the birds in a two per cent creoline 
bath and to whitewash the houses with 
carbolated whitewash. This will kill 
any mites which may be left in the feath- 
ers or about the roosts. 



Worms From Wild Birds — Some 
years ago my fowls became afflicted with 
a round worm, also tape worms, and in 
one article you mentioned several rem- 
edies, such as santoine, turpentine and 
tincture of male fern. I dug up the 
yards and seeded to green feed, but all 
to no purpose ; it has practically driven 
me out of business. Last spring I in- 
vested in some outside stock (just 
hatched baby chicks), but they also be- 
came infested, although they were on 
new land. However, I managed to keep 
down those pests by occasionally dosing 
the hens with the above mentioned medi- 
cines. We do not feed anything unclean 
to our fowls and it always has been a 
puzzle to me where such worms came 
from. 

A few days ago our house cat brought 
home a small bird, which she began to 
devour on the house porch, but leaving 
the intestines, out of which crawled two 
good sized round worms such as fowls 
have. As we live in the woods, do you 
think this has anything to do with it? 
I am almost afraid to start my incu- 
bators this season, as it may only result 
in future failure. — W. E. B. 

Answer — Your fowls undoubtedly get. 
the worms as the wild birds do, "from 



184 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



the droppings or eggs of worms from 
the other birds. By the persistent use 
of turpentine, using 60 drops in a quart 
of water, or mixing it in that proportion 
in the food, for a week at a time, you 
can get rid of them. Also disinfect the 
ground. The only thing that I can see is 
for you to keep up this treatment, for a 
week every two months, giving turpen- 
tine either in the food or water. I would 
not be discouraged because that is a 
sure remedy and by watching and notic- 
ing the droppings, you need not fail in 
rearing the chickens. 



Worms From Pigeons — My chickens' 
gizzards are affected by red worms 
about the size of a pin. All the stock 
I raised last year seemed affected, al- 
though the eggs came from different 
places. I have the Brown Leghorns, 
Brahmas and R. I. Reds. I feed all the 
various grains, plenty of greens and 
good meat and bone. The only thing 
you recommend that I have not fed is 
charcoal, still as chicks they got it in, 
the chick feed. I have given them tur- 
pentine in food and water at various 
times and it seemed to have the desired 
result, but today I learned different, the 
gizzard is penetrated and has a sore 
spot caused by these worms. All the 
stock in different yards are affected. 

I get plenty of eggs and the chickens 
look good, combs nice and red, never- 
theless I find them all affected the same 
way. — Mrs. G. S. L. 

Answer — I have been through the 
same trouble myself and so can help 
you. I found out that my chickens were 
getting the worms or the eggs of the 
worms from neighboring pigeons. The 
droppings of the pigeons contained the 
e^gs of the worms and in a short time 
the droppings of the chickens also had 
them and the other chickens ate them, 
and so on they kept increasing. First of 
all I gave the chickens the turpentine 
which I recommended to you. A tea- 
spoonful in a quart of water. Mix the 
food with that water, also put a teaspoon- 
ful in a quart of the drinking water and 
allow no other water for drinking. Keep 
this treatment up for a week. Mean- 
while clean up the yards by having them 
either ploughed under or dug up and a 
crop of some kind planted, something 
that will grow quickly, such as wheat or 
barley, and as far as possible destroy 
the birds that are bringing you the trou- 
ble, for I cannot but think it must tie 
pigeons or some other wild birds. The 



worms will kill the young chickens, but 
they do not always kill the older fowls. 
Sometimes the worms come from, un- 
clean or spoiled food, from "webby" 
grains and bad animal food. You will 
have to discover for yourself where 
they are getting the worms from and 
cut off the source of supply. 



Intestinal Worms — I wish a little in- 
formation and advice in regard to a val- 
uable Buff Orpington cockerel I own. 
He has become mopy and . goes away 
under the trees by himself, and has lost 
over half of his weight in a month. He 
eats like a horse, though, of everything 
I give my hens, but shakes his head 
an awful lot, as though something was 
wrong. I looked in his throat and it 
. looks all right. He has changed in color 
from a light buff to a very dark red 
since acting unwell, and has grown to 
be a homely, dopey bird, from a real 
beautiful lively one a short time ago. — 
M. J. Q. 

Answer — -I think your Buff Orpington 
cockerel has intestinal worms. You had 
better give him 25 drops of spirits of 
turpentine on a lump of bread, or in a 
spoonful of water, and follow that im- 
mediately with two teaspoonfuls of cas- 
tor oil.* Keep him shut up so you can 
watch the droppings and remove and 
burn or bury them deeply. If you do 
not find worms in his droppings, give 
him ten drops of tincture of male fern 
on a lump of sugar, followed in an hour 
by a dose of castor oil. This is for tape 
worms. Both the remedies should be 
given after twelve hours or more fast- 
ing. 

Dr. Sanborn says : If you suspect 
worms, try to remove them. Dissolve 
in the water that is to be used for mix- 
ing the mash, two grains of santonine 
for each bird to be treated. Mix a small 
amount of mash, quite dry and add cas- 
tor oil, one-half teaspoonful for each 
bird. Feed this to the suspected birds, 
watching for the results of the "worm 
treatment." All droppings should be, 
collected often and put out of reach of 
the birds. 



Several Kinds — I am in despair and 
it is lice, lice, lice. We have Brown 
Leghorns, and as they will not sit, we 
borrowed a setting hen and she only 
stayed with us long enough to give our 
hens a supply of grey head lice. When 
we discovered them we went to work 
with a lice killer, sprayed the coops, 



LICE, MITES, TICKS AND WORMS 



185 



ground and nests, put the chickens in a 
box and left them three hours. We also 
used crude oil, poured gallons on the 
ground, painted nests, roosts, etc., but 
still the lice stayed on the hens' heads. 
Last week we bought six Buff Orping- 
tons ; yesterday we found they were 
alive with body lice, yellow lice, espe- 
cially around the vent ; there were thou- 
sands ; then we examined the Leghorns, 
found they were infected also. What 
shall we do? Do you think it would 
hurt them to wash them now with the 
kerosene emulsion? Am afraid it might 
give them a cold. — Mrs. C. S. B. 

Answer — What I should do were I in 
your place would be to get some Bu- 
hach powder, rub it well into the chick- 
ens' heads for the head lice, and well 
into the fluff under the wings and on 
the backs for the body lice, then put 
the hens, six or a dozen at a time, into 
a large size dry goods box, at the bot- 
tom of which is a newspaper thorough- 
ly painted with a good lice killer ; cover 
the top of the box with a carpet and 
leave them in for three hours, then look 
them over thoroughly and pull out every 
feather that has nits on it. The nits 
hatch out about every five days, so in 
a week's time look the hens over again, 
powder them again, and again put them 
into the box painted with the lice killer. 
Two applications should cure them. Af- 
ter this, once a month, at night, powder 
them with buhach and look them over 
occasionally, and, if necessary, go 
through the performance again. You 
can paint the roosts with lice killer, but 
do not put any in the nests, for it will 
not only flavor the eggs, but will kill 
the germs and make the eggs unhatch- 
able. The best thing to use for the 



nests is a kettleful of boiling water with 
a large handful of salt added to it, or 
scalding soapsuds, putting in fresh 
straw, or, better still, making the nests 
of tobacco stems. You can get these 
for 25 cents a gunny sack full. 



Spray for Houses — Last summer I 
found a recipe in one of your articles 
for spraying hen houses. I used it to 
good advantage, but have misplaced the 
recipe and cannot remember the mixture 
exactly. It was composed of coal oil, 
carbolic acid and soap, with a certain 
proportion of water. If you will kindly 
send it to me, I will appreciate it. — 
C. W. 

Answer — I gladly send you the recipe, 
which is excellent. I have used it for 
ten years or more. It will kill fleas, 
lice, mites or any insect pests in the 
henneries. It will also thoroughly dis- 
infect the premises from infectious dis- 
eases. 

Dissolve one pound of hard soap (or 
soap powder) in one gallon of boiling 
water, remove from the fire and add 
immediately one gallon of kerosene and 
one pint of crude carbolic acid. Churn 
or agitate violently for twenty minutes 
or until you want to use it. If the oil 
and water separate on standing, then 
the soap was not caustic enough. Add 
to this ten gallons of water. 

I keep the stock solution on hand, dip 
out a quart and add to it ten quarts of 
water and use it for spraying the houses 
once every three weeks in summer and 
every month in winter. Putting it on 
hot in summer and slopping it well into 
dark and dusty corners will kill fleas, 
which are exceedingly troublesome on 
sandy soil in this part of the country. 



FEEDING IN GENERAL 



Feeding System — I am not perfectly 
satisfied with my feeding system_ and I 
follow yours on the food question. I 
note that you advise dried blood and 
other food dried in the oven, green cut 
bone and bone meal. Would you advise 
boiled liver, lungs and scraps instead of 
preoared meat scraps? Are ground clam 
shells srood in place of cut bone? Could 
there be any danger from feeding too 
much ground shell? Should gravel be 
furnished to chickens to pick from?— 
D. F. 



Answer — Boiled liver and lungs 
chopped fine are excellent for fowls. I 
prefer them to prepared meat scraps. 
They must be fed while fresh, as spoiled 
meat may poison the fowls. Clam shells 
cannot take the place of cut bone. 
Crushed oyster and clam shells contain 
lime, which is very good for 'making egg 
shell. There is no danger of the hens 
eating too much of this. Gravel or grit 
should always be furnished to chickens. 



186 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



Animal Food for Fowls— Kindly in- 
form me as to the difference, if any, be- 
tween beef scraps, beef meal, meat meal 
and blood meal. Which is considered 
the best to feed laying hens and grow- 
ing chickens? I have fed beef scraps 
for nearly a year and had good results 
from it; at least I think I have. If 
some of the others are better, I would 
like to know what one it is. — G. K. W. 

Answer— Beef scraps, beef meal and 
meat meal are the same, only the latter, 
is ground finer than the former. Blood 
meal is made from the blood, cooked, 
dried and ground. Pure dried blood 
contains more protein than the others, 
therefore is considered better in most 
cases. The beef scraps and beef meal 
are the refuse of the slaughter houses, 
heads, lights, etc., boiled down or 
cooked with steam, pressed, dried and 
ground, and are frequently called tank- 
age. 

If you have a good brand, keep to it, 
because some are no good, and if al- 
lowed to become damp or heated are in- 
jurious to the chickens. 



Bad Meat— I had twelve laying hens, 
they averaged seven eggs a day, were 
healthy and never were sick until I 
bought five cents' worth of green ground 
bone from a wagon that passes my 
door. It was wet and slimy, and 
smelled, but he said it was all right. I 
gave it to the chickens at noon ; fed 
them nothing else then. At four o'clock 
I went out and found two dying and 
six more droopy and by eight that night 
had lost eight. Next day two large 
Buff Orpington hens died. I looked for 
some of your remedies giving asafoet- 
ida pills and the soda you spoke of in 
the water. I showed the bones to the 
butcher, and he said he never heard_ of 
such a thing as spoiled meat poisoning 
chickens. He sold it when it smelled 
like that all the time.— Mrs. D. M. 

Answer — That m.eat poisoned your 
chickens evidently. It is called ptomaine 
poisoning. Butchers sometimes put 
formaline or some preservative on the 
meat, which has a very poisonous effect 
on chickens, but yours were undoubted- 
ly poisoned by the putrid meat. You 
had better not buy any ground bone un- 
less it is quite fresh. 



words, what proportion for each hen? 
-L, S. 

Answer — Half an ounce per hen every 
day at this spring season of the year is 
about what they need of blood meal 
mixed in the mash. Weigh out enough 
for the thirteen hens and measure that 
in a cup or by a spoon, then you will 
know how much by measure. 



BEEF Scrap — Is beef scrap, sold at 
the poultry supply houses, good for 
fowls? What is it and how much should 
be given per hen? — J. F. Y. 

Answer — Beef scrap is excellent for 
fowls when it is good. It is made from 
refuse of the slaughter houses, heads, 
lungs, liver, etc. It can readily be de- 
tected if unfit for food by pouring boil- 
ing water upon some and if the odor 
smells of decayed meats it is unfit for 
use. Some put it in dry mashes, oth- 
ers put it in hoppers and allow the 
fowls to eat of it as they like, either 
way is good. 

Examine also by placing a small quan- 
tity upon a piece of white paper and 
noticing carefully pieces which look 
more like dark brown glass ; these are ' 
hoof and horn, very rich in nitrogen but 
cannot be digested by fowls. 

Beef scrap, if kept in a warm or damp 
place, sometimes become lumpy. If you 
break open the lumps white threads may 
be seen in this. This is a very poison- 
ous fungoid growth and will poison the 
fowls. If rats or mice are allowed to 
run over the beef scraps their drop- 
pings will also moisten the meal ana 
render it poisonous. Thousands of 
chickens are lost each year by these 
poisons. 

Always examine beef scrap before 
buying any great quantities, and reject 
any that has fiber or hair, hoof and 
horn, as it is unfit for food. 



Blood Meal — Will you please^ tell me 
how much blood meal to put into the 
mash for thirteen hens, or in other 



BEET Tops— Will you kindly tell me if 
beet tops are a good green food for 
ducks? Also for fowls and turkeys? 
Are they as nourishing as alfalfa? My 
hens are not laying well. The eggs 
have suddenly dropped off, and I did 
not know but what the cause might be 
beet tops. — J. S .Y. 

Answer- — In September one is glad 
to get anything green for the fowls, 
ducks, geese or turkeys, to eat. Al- 
most anything green is better than noth- 
ing, but alfalfa contains more protein 



FEEDING IN GENERAL 



187 



than any other green food except white 
clover. The per cent of protein in white 
clover is 15.7, and in alfalfa 14.30, while 
in beet tops it is only 1.3. By this you 
will see that alfalfa is worth about 14 
times as much as beet tops. There is 
about as much protein in alfalfa as in 
wheat bran. You complain that your 
hens do not lay. I think probably they 
are moulting. You cannot expect hens 
to lay all the time without taking a rest. 

Dry Hopper Methods — I write you 
regarding the dry hopper method of 
feeding. How much space do you leave 
at the bottom for the feed to come 
through, and how wide do you leave the 
space for the chickens to eat out of? 
We made one, but it is not a success, 
for the box is bloody from their combs 
hitting against it. They stand and eat 
all the time and do not go and drink as 
you say yours do. — D. S. M. 

Answer — I had the same experience 
with hoppers injuring the combs of the 
fowls, and now I make my hoppers like 
those used at the Maine Experiment 
Station, simply a box with a roof over 
it. The box is twenty-four inches long 
and eleven inches wide. The sides are 
cut like a gable, the highest point being 
sixteen inches high. The gable roof 
keeps the food dry and the hens waste 
scarcely any of it. The roof lifts off, 
or can be slid back to fill it. 



Dry Mash — Will you kindly inform 
me as to the best method of feeding 
calfalfa meal to hens and pullets? I 
use hopper constantly filled with dry 
mash consisting of bran, shorts, feed 
meal and beef scraps, accessible at all 
times, and would much prefer adding 
the alfalfa to this. Or would you ad- 
vise soaking it in water and feeding it 
separately? The fowls get grain twice 
a day and now if I add the alfalfa to 
the mash what proportion shall I make 
it? Also, is it as well to add the char- 
coal, two or three per cent, to the mash 
or feed separately. I wish to simplify 
the routine work as much as possible. 
—Mrs. O. K. 

Answer — I advocate adding the cal- 
falfa meal to the dry mash . It is the 
same as alfalfa meal. It would make a 
very good ration to simply add one part 
of calfalfa meal to your present mash, 
making it one part each of bran, shorts, 
feed meal, beef scraps and calfalfa meal. 
I feed this with excellent results, but at 



first the hens did not like the calfalfa, 
so I only added one iron spoonful, in- 
creasing the dose every day, adding one 
more spoonful until, within a month, 
they were having the right proportion. 
You can mix the charcoal in the same 
way, but I prefer to keep it separate 
with the grit and the crushed shell. 



Exercise for Fowls — I was greatly 
interested in an article of yours on feed- 
ing. You say give a hen a chance to 
work and no matter how fat, etc. Now 
what interests me most to know is just 
how you manage to give them plenty 
of work in a limited space. We, who 
occupy only a village lot, will be greatly 
helped if you will tell us how to keep 
the hens busy in such limited quarters 
— G. P. C. 

Answer — To keep hens busy, give 
them what is called a "scratching pen." 
Put a 12-inch board across one corner 
of your lot and fill that full of good 
wheat straw or hay; scatter all the 
grain you feed in that, and the hens will 
work all day digging out the grain ; 
every grain they scratch out they will 
bury two, and so will keep up the exer- 
cise. If you are feeding the hopper 
method, put the hopper at one end of 
the pen and the water vessel at the 
other end; this will give them the exer- 
cise of walking back and forth. You 
can also hang up a cabbage for them to 
jump at, but scratching is the natural 
and best exercise for developing the egg 
organs. 



Tomatoes — Do tomatoes tend to make 
the hens quit laying? — J. W. 

Answer — Tomatoes will not do the 
hens any harm unless fed in very large 
quantities. There is not much nourish- 
ment to them and consequently they will 
not improve the laying qualities; other- 
wise a reasonable amount will benefit 
the hens. 



For Young and Old Stock— I am 
very much interested in your articles 
and_ would like to ask you for a little 
advice. Being away from home all day, 
I have to feed in the morning enough 
to do all day. This I can manage for 
the old stock by feeding scratch food 
in the litter and dry mash in hoppers. 
But how can I manage the growing 
stock? Please give a formula for dry 
feed. Do you consider the scratch food 
sold by the poultry houses. good food 



188 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



for the young stock? My chicks will 
not eat the baby chick food after a 
week or ten days. I also give them 
lawn clippings or lettuce every even- 
ing. 

Is a handful of scratch feed to the 
hen once a day enough where they have 
the dry mash and table scraps ? Is 
cracked corn good food to .feed alone to 
young stock? I have Rhode Island 
Reds.— R. L. P. 

Answer — Your questions relate prin- 
cipally to the feeding of the young 
stock, and you do not say whether you 
want to keep them for fattening for the 
table or for future egg layers. There is 
of course a difference in the way of 
feeding, or rather in the quality of the 
food to be given to them. However, I 
will tell you the way I feed for egg lay- 
ing. As soon as I think the little chicks 
will eat whole wheat, I add it to the 
baby chick feed, a small quantity. If 
they pick it up quickly I add more each 
day, and in a few days I give also some 
kafhr corn or finely cracked corn. It 
should be finely cracked, as it is difficult 
of digestion. When it is too long in 
digesting, the corn ferments in the giz- 
zard and that gives the chick diarrhoea, 
which often, proves fatal. We never 
want to overtax the digestion of a 
chick, so I give corn carefully. This ap- 
plies to the last question in your letter 
— it is not good to feed corn alone. It 
has been clearly proven that chicks do 
better, grow more quickly and mature 
earlier if they can have a great variety 
of seeds to eat. This is the reason we 
prefer to buy the chick feed already 
mixed from the supply houses. They 
have greater facilities for getting a va- 
riety of grains than we have. 

When the young stock is old enough 
to eat the wheat and kaffir corn, they 
can be fed as you do the old hens, only 
remember to give them nice, clean lit- 
ier to scratch in. It will need renewing 
oftener than that of the old hens, for if 
it gets foul and they pick up some of 
their own droppings, you will soon have 
a set of sick chickens. Feed the grains 
in the scratching pen to the little chicks, 
and also give them in a hopper of bran, 
alfalfa meal, corn meal, ground bone 
and either granulated milk or dried 
blood in equal proportions. The littl^ 
chicks will prefer the grains in the 
scratching pen and eat those the first, 
which is just what they want, but if they 
are hungry they will go to the hopper. 
Most of the poultry supply houses now 



make an excellent scratch feed ; they 
realize the need of it and are able to 
mix it scientifically. I always buy from 
them, and if I think there is too much 
corn and that my fowls will become too 
fat, I say, "Please economize on the 
corn." You will find most of the poul- 
try supply houses willing to mix the 
scratch food just as you want it. You 
are feeding the mature stock all right. 
One handful of the scratch feed in the 
litter is about right for the hens. The 
green food is quite important, the lawn 
clippings should be of clover or as 
much clover as possible, for the blue 
grass becomes so hard and stiff as the 
summer continues that there is not 
much nourishment in it and the hens 
will not eat it. Lettuce is good, but 
sometim.es quite expensive .and difficult 
to get, but there is another green food 
that has been found excellent and is 
within the reach of any one. This is 
sprouted oats. Take half a bucket of 
oats, pour warm water on them and 
leave them covered all night, then 
spread them in boxes. Any box will do. 
Have the oats about two inches deep 
and keep them damp. In four or five 
days there will be a mass of tender 
green sprouts. The hens will eat eager- 
ly of this. A friend of mine has also 
done this with barley for many years 
with great success. This green food is 
as good for the young stock as for the 
old. 

In your place I would feed as you do, 
throwing scratch food (a handful to 
each fowl) in the litter in the early 
morning, keeping the dry mash in the 
hopper, and feed the green food in the 
evening. Some of it may be left till 
morning, but will not wilt much, and 
they will eat it the first thing. Be sure 
they have plenty of water and have it 
shaded from the sun, either in a box 
on its side or in some sort of shelter. 



Mixing Foods — I want to ask you if 
there is any good reason for not mixing 
foods at the same meal. Prof. Jaffa 
of the U. C. said on one occasion that 
it was best not to mix foods — in feed- 
ing wheat, to feed that alone ; the same 
of barley or of corn. Make either an 
entire meal. I have observed in feed- 
ing my chickens that they seem to enjoy 
a variety of grains fed together. Which 
method would you think best? 

I am feeding rolled barley dry. 
Would you think it better to soak it? 
I give the mash at noon, dry, and green 
feed morning and evening. The fowls 



FEEDING IN GENERAL 



189 



seem to like the green feed better at 
those time than at noon. 

Answer — The reason Professor Jaffa 
thinks it best not to mix foods is be- 
cause some hens will pick out all of a 
certain grain in a greedy manner, and 
by giving only one grain at a time, they 
are forced to eat what he chooses to 
give them. I would not venture to dif- 
fer from so learn red a man, but, like 
you, I notice my hens enjoy a variety, 
so_ I give it to them, and for the little 
chicks I am positive a great variety is 
by far the best for them. I found that 
the hens enjoyed an occasional feed of 
soaked barley, so I poured scalding wa- 
ter over a few pailsful of barley, cover- 
ing it with gunny sacks to keep in the 
steam and when thoroughly soaked, fed 
it to the hens. 



How Much to Feed — Can you tell me 
how much feed an average Leghorn 
should have in weight with a free range 
of two acres of alfalfa? Is green ground 
bone necessary all the year round or 
only in the winter? My hens will not 
lay and I may not be feeding right, al- 
though a few Wyandottes I have are too 
fat, but they get exactly the same food 
as the Leghorns. I have 72 hens and 
only got 12 eggs yesterday. Am not 
satisfied with the results and desire to 
have them do better. 

Answer — An average Leghorn hen 
should have in weight for every pound 
weight of hen an ounce of food. As 
Leghorns weigh about four pounds 
each, they would require about four 
ounces of food each per day. Animal 
food of some kind is necessary for hens 
if you want them to lay. If you can 
give them milk in large quantities, that 
will give them all the animal food nec- 
essary. Green ground bone is, of course, 
the best food, but it is very difficult to 
keep it fresh and sweet in the summer 
time, therefore dried bone and dried 
blood, or beef scrap or milk must take 
the place. A hen requires about half an 
ounce of green ground bone every day 
or of the dry stuff (bone and blood) 
half an ounce every other day. If the 
fowls have plenty of green food and are 
not laying well, give them more animal 
food. Perhaps your Leghorns are two 
years old, in which case you had better 
get younger fowls, as their days of 
greatest usefulness are over. 



How Much Grain— I have been feed- 
ing three times a day, grain morning 
and night and a mash at noon. I feed 
a good handful of kaffir corn, wheat or 
Indian corn in the scratch pens. I have 
a mixed flock; I cannot well use the 
dry mash. How much of the grain 
should I give if I only feed once a day? 
I have fifty or sixty hens kept only fcr 
eggs and no good way of weighing 
grain, so please state quantity per hen 
and not weight.— C. A. B. 

Answer— It is a good rule to feed a 
quart of grain for every dozen hens, the 
grain to be buried in the scratching 
pens, so they will have to dig it out 
Give all the green food, clover, lawn 
clippings, alfalfa, lettuce, cabbage, veg- 
etables, that they will eat, and one table- 
spoonful of green cut bone for each hen, 
three times a week. You do not men- 
tion how you make your mash. Re- 
member that a hen needs animal food, 
green food and cereals; that is the bal- 
anced ration that will give plenty of 
eggs at all times. 

Broken Glass for Chickens— Have 
started in poultry in a small way. Have 
had very good success so far. How- 
ever, it is somewhat of a trial to get 
enough gravel or grit for a good sized 
flock on a small lot. Now, what I want 
to know is, is pounded glass fit to feed 
hens? Two of my neighbors have ad- 
vised its use in the poultry yards, but 
I am afraid it would act on the chick- 
ens the same as it did on foxes we used 
to poison with it up in the wilds of Wis- 
consin. — J. G. F. 

Answer — Broken glass or broken 
crockery make a very fair substitute for 
grit and gravel. It should be broken 
not smaller than a grain of wheat and 
have three sharp edges or corners to 
each piece. In using glass, be sure not 
to take pointed pieces like slivers, be- 
cause they may pierce the crop or gi- 
zard. For several years, when I could 
not get grit, I used broken crockery for 
the chickens, and I know it does well. 



Substitute for Green Food— Will 
you kindly tell me what would be the 
quickest and best vegetable for green 
food I could grow for my poultry? I 
planted a patch of white clover, but it 
does not seem to grow at all. Is al- 
falfa meal a good substitute where green 
cannot be had? — G. K. 



190 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



Answer — An alfalfa patch is a good 
thing to have for poultry, but if you 
cannot have either clover or alfalfa, 
plant for the little chickens, lettuce, and 
for the older ones, kale, swisschard, cab- 
bage, beets, etc. These in the order in 
which I have mentioned them are the 
best foods that I know of. You, of 
course, must judge what will grow best 
in your section. Alfalfa meal is a very 
fair substitute for green food, but _ of 
course does not come up to the crisp, 
succulent, fresh-growing greens. 



Lack Green Food — I have three pens 
of White Plymouth Rocks and what 
bothers me is I only get from four to 
six eggs from them. They all look fine. 
I think they are rather fat. As to feed, 
I give them a small handful of grain in 
the morning in deep straw, either 
wheat or barley; about eleven a dry 
mash — eight quarts bran, four quarts 
middlings and nearly a quart of beef 
scraps ; at night I give them the dry 
grain again. Once in a while a table- 
spoonful of pepper in their mash. They 
are not troubled with lice or mites, and 
have grit, oyster shell and coal before 
them, all the time ; also good clean wa- 
ter. Can you advise me how to feed 
them so as to get them down to busi- 
ness? — J. B. 

Answer — What your hens lack is 
green food. At least one-third of a 
hen's food should be green — clover, al- 
falfa or some succulent vegetables. They 
cannot do well upon the absolutely dry 
food you are giving them. Add the 
green to your present ration and you 
should get eggs. 



Millet Seed — Can you tell me what 
makes my chickens that are from ten 
weeks to three months old, droopy? Is 
millet seed good for little chicks for the 
first two or three weeks? I mean mil- 
let seed alone. — Mrs. P. E. N. 

Answer — When chickens are droopy 
it is a sign that they may have either 
lice, worms or indigestion. If you are 
feeding millet seed, that may account 
for it. Millet seed is very hard, round 
and slippery, and passes through the giz- 
zard and intestines without being di- 
gested, and I have known of several 
chickens dying from it. A little used 
in their food may not hurt them, but an 
exclusive diet of millet is certain to 
cause trouble. 



Skim Milk — Will you kindly inform 
me whether skim milk is a good food 
for young pullets or laying hens? 
Which is best, sweet, clabber or curd? 
Is there danger of feeding too much 
curd or skim milk? Is curd of more 
value to young stock or to laying hens? 
I have a bunch of ten-weeks-old pullets 
that I am feeding clabber and bran 
mixed until it makes a crumbly mash. 
Is it a fattening or muscle or bone mak- 
ing ration? How would it do to feed 
to laying stock? I give skim milk to 
my laying hens in troughs which set in 
the sun. Will that kill disease germs 
or not? — L. E. E. 

Answer— Skim milk is one of the best 
foods for chickens or hens at any stage 
of their lives. It can be fed either 
sweet, clabber or curd. By curd I mean 
cooked. If you cook it, be careful not 
to heat it above 100 degrees, or it will 
become tough and indigestible. There 
is no danger of feeding too much skim 
milk or clabber to fowls. The crumbly 
mash is good feed, but you would suc- 
ceed just as well by giving them the 
bran dry and letting them drink or eat 
the milk as they want it. It is a good 
bone, muscle and egg making ration. I 
give my fowls all the milk I can spare, 
pouring it into troughs and leaving it 
till they eat it. The sun does not seem 
to affect it badly when it is pure milk, 
but if bran were mixed with it, the sun 
might make it ferment and then it would 
disagree with them. 



Sorghum Seed — Will you tell me the 
value of sorghum seed for poultry? Is 
it fat producing or an egg food, and how 
would it do for turkeys? — C. B. C. 

Answer — Sorghum seed, broom corn 
seed and Egyptian corn have almost 
the same nutritive value. They can be 
fed to both chickens and turkeys with 
the same satisfactory results. One year 
when on the farm I had several tons of 
broom corn seed which was left where 
the threshers worked and the fowls had 
free access to it and the green-growing 
wheat ; they got through the moult early 
and layed all winter, eggs galore. I 
never saw better laying, and the turkeys 
did well on it. Professor Jaffa in his 
most valuable bulletin (Fermer's bulle- 
tin 164) on poultry feeding, gives us the 
nutritive value of broom corn and of 
sorghum seed as both the same — 1 :8.4 ; 
of Egyption corn, 1 :8.6 ; Sorghum seed 
is more fattening than wheat and less 



FEEDING IN GENERAL 



191 



fattening than corn. If your fowls are 
on free range and have plenty of green 
food and animal food or milk, sorghum 
seed will be an excellent food for them. 
You should write to the Director Agri- 
cultural Experiment station, University 
of California, Berkeley, and ask him to 
send you "Bulletin 164 on Poultry Feed- 
ing," then you can see just the right 
way to balance your ration. 



Kaffir Corn — Is kaffir corn the same 
as Egyptian corn, and is it an egg food 
or simply a fattening food? 

Answer — Kaffir and Egyptian corn 
belong to the same family and are very 
much alike. They are both fattening 
grains, and I prefer mixing them with 
other grains, such as wheat, barley, oats 
or buckwheat. 



THE EGG QUESTION 



Egg-Bound — I have the White Mi- 
norcas. Have IS hens and get from 12 
to 14 eggs per day. I have a pullet 
and an old hen that seem to droop and 
sit around all day, and sometimes stag- 
ger; they had been laying all the time 
and their combs are still red, but they 
do not lay now. I feed them bran mash 
in the morning with alfalfa meal and 
egg-maker, and once a week chopped 
onions and red pepper, and at noon we 
give them green grass, and at night 
wheat, besides this they get lots of meat 
scraps from the table ; they have oyster 
shell and grit before them all the time. 
They have not eaten anything since they 
felt this way, but seem to kind of gasp 
for breath, and they do not seem to 
have anything in their craws. Thank- 
ing you in advance for a reply, I re- 
main. — Mrs. J. W. S. 

Answer — Your hens certainly have 
been doing very well. Minorcas very 
often get egg-bound, as their eggs are 
so large they have difficulty in laying 
them. This may be the case with yours, 
and I would advise you to examine 
them. You might also give them some 
Epsom salts, half a teaspoonful in a 
tablespoonful of water. If it is indi- 
gestion, the Epsom salts will help that. 
I think your hens may not be getting 
green food enough. 

Egg-bound is most common in slug- 
gish birds, or those closely confined 
without opportunity to exercise. Active 
fowls, such as Leghorns, seldom take 
life easy enough to get fat, hence are 
not subject to this disease, which is 
largely owing to an overfat condition of 
the entire system, in which the eeg 
passage is pressed upon by the accumu- 
lation of fat, hindering the passage of 
the egg. Not only are there large col- 
lections of fat in the abdominal cav- 
ity, but much of the muscular tissue is 



replaced by streaks of fat. This weak- 
ens the muscles of the egg passage, so 
that the egg may be arrested in the pas- 
sage where it sets up inflammation. This 
same egg-bound condition sometimes 
causes death from heart disease. The 
bird goes on the nest to lay, strains vio- 
lently to pass the egg, the heart muscles 
are decidedly weak from fatty degen- 
eration, the extra exertion is too much 
for the weakened heart, and it gives 
out, the bird being found on the nest 
dead. 

In the early stages, when the irrita- 
tion is slight, it is sufficient to inject a 
small quantity of olive oil and gently 
manipulate the parts. Afterwards give 
cooling green food, and if the hens are 
too fat, reduce the ration. In case the 
expulsion of the egg cannot be obtained 
by the injection of oil, immerse the low- 
er part of the body in water, as warm 
as can be used without injury, and hold 
it there half an hour or more, until th^ 
parts are relaxed. Then inject oil and 
endeavor to assist the bird by careful 
pressure and manipulation or by gentle 
dilatation of the passage. 



It Cured Them — How long can eggs 
be kept for setting and do -they require 
any special treatment? I have a favor- 
ite hen and I want to set as many of her 
eggs as possible, but I do not know how 
long they will remain fertile, as I have 
no hen wanting to sit at present. Sev- 
eral of my fowls had a touch of roup 
and I tried a remedy that you gave 
(castor oil. camphorated oil, kerosene, 
turpentine and a few drops of carbolic 
acid) squirted up her nostrils. I also 
mixed another remedy, that you gave 
(cayenne pepper, mustard, vinegar, lard 
and flour) and gave it to the fowls, in 
pills, as you said. I happened to leave 
it where they could get at it, and found 
that I need not give it in pills, for they 



192 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



were eating it with relish. I have made 
the mixture several times since and they 
seem to be very fond of it. Their combs 
have become very red and although they 
are moulting, they are laying well. 
Would you advise allowing them to eat 
all they want of it? They are entirely 
well of the roup.— Mrs. H. A. H. 

Answer — In reply to your first ques- 
tion, it is well to remember that the 
fresher the eggs you set, the stronger 
will be the chicks. I have always set 
them as fresh as I can get them, and I 
never sold eggs over a week old for 
setting. However, I have kept eggs 
from a favorite hen for three weeks and 
had a very good hatch. To keep them, 
I always lay the eggs on their side on 
sawdust or on grain (oats or barley) to 
keep them from rolling, and I turn them 
every day. By this means the yolk does 
not adhere to one side, and I have a 
good hatch. Some advise standing them 
on the small end, but it does not suc- 
ceed as well as my way. I am glad your 
fowls have gotten over the roup. I 
would not advise you to let them eat 
their medicine, because that remedy is a 
very powerful stimulant, and although 
excellent for a cold, often curing it in 
one day, it will prove an irritant if con- 
tinued too long. It is even now stimu- 
lating the egg organs and digestive or- 
gans greatly, as is shown by the comb, 
and I advise you to discontinue it, in- 
creasing the animal food ; and, as yours 
are Rhode Island Reds, I would advise 
adding some oil cake (linseed meal) to 
the food. This will help to give a fine 
gloss to the new feathers. 



Soft Shelled Eggs — Having read a 
great deal of your advice, I will ask of 
you a favor. Would you please tell me 
what can be the reason chickens lay un- 
shelled eggs? They sometimes drop 
them while on the roost or out among 
the brush. Mine have been very bad of 
late ; I get as many as three or four a 
day, sometimes, from about thirty hens. 
I "should be real thankful to find out 
what to do for them. — Mrs. L. E. L. 

Answer — Soft shelled eggs are not 
exactly a diseased condition, but mav 
be a symptom, of approaching danger. It 
is usually due to a lack of shell-making 
material in the food, or to inflammation 
of the shell-forming chamber of the egg 
duct, which no longer secrets calcareous 
matter. Overstimulation of the egg or- 



gans by the use of pepper or stimulat- 
ing egg_ foods, will have this effect. 
Worms in the intestines may also pro- 
duce the irritation that will affect the 
oviduct, and an overfat condition will 
increase the tendency to laying soft- 
shelled eggs. This is the common cause 
of soft-shelled eggs. 

Treatment — Provided the cause is an 
overfat condition, it can be remedied 
by giving a ration low in fat-producing 
elements. Give the fowls plenty of shell- 
forming material, such as crushed oyster 
shells and grit, cut bone and green food ; 
make them work for the grain, which 
should be wheat in preference to other 
grains. One heaping teaspoonful of Ep- 
som salts to a pint of drinking water, 
kept before the hens for a day twice a 
week, will help remove the layers of 
fat. Feed a properly balanced ration 
and do not try to increase the egg yield 
by using stimulants that irritate the or- 
gans of reproduction. Take freshly- 
crushed oyster shell and sift through a 
rather fine sieve, giving the coarse part 
to the fowls and the fine use one tea- 
spoonful in the mash for each fowl 
every other day. 



Blood Spot on Yolk — I have 150 
Brown Leghorn pullets just starting to 
lay, and I supply a few customers with 
eggs and they have been complaining 
of finding: a little blood spot on the yolk. 
I have plenty of nest room, so they are 
not crowded. I have been picking 70 
to 80 eggs a day. They have abundance 
of green feed. I feed soft feed in the 
morning, wheat at mid-day, corn at 
evening, so if you will please let me 
know what the cause of this is. I will 
be very much oblieed, because my cus- 
tomers are getting dissatisfied. — W. 
W. M. 

Answer — The small blood clot you 
describe results from a slight hemor- 
rhage which has generally occurred in 
the upper two-thirds of the oviduct. 
Such hemorrhages are the result of great 
functional activity and congestion of the 
blood vessels. They are excited by any 
of the causes which lead to congestion 
and inflammation and are to be coun- 
teracted by green feed and less animal 
food and by the suppression of red pep- 
per or any stimulants. Give a little Ep- 
som salts in the water and add about 
twice the amount of salt you are giving: 
to the mash in the morning, leaving off 
the red pepper. 



THE EGG QUESTION 



193 



Largest White Eggs — I am starting 
or trying to start a poultry ranch and 
would like to ask you a question recent- 
ly asked by some one else, but in a little 
different way. Which of the good lay- 
ing breeds lay the largest white eggs? 
My aim is for good city trade. — E. A. M. 

Answer — The Black Minorcas have, 
the reputation of laying the largest 
white eggs. Ine White Leghorns are 
their close competitors. It very much 
depends upon the strain or family. For 
instance, one set of fowls may have been 
selected for beauty of feather and form 
and their owners may not have chosen 
those that layed the largest eggs, whilst 
some have carefully chosen the largest 
egg-layers, and bred from those, not car- 
ing for exhibiiton birds, and again a 
third party might have united these two 
qualities and have both prize winners 
and the best of layers. It depends upon 
the ability of the breeder and also upon 
his object. 

Black Minorcas do admirably in the 
climate of Southern California. I do 
not know how they would grow in a 
damper, colder climate. You would have 
to inquire of people who have had ex- 
perience in that kind of a climate. 



Sudden Death — Lately I have had 
three hens die suddenly, and apparently 
without cause ; my neighbors have also 
lost several. Perhaps you can enlighten 
us and suggest a remedy. The hens 
were laying, combs red and large, crops 
full of wheat, etc., but die on the nest 
over night. I held a post mortem ex- 
amination and could find nothing radi- 
cally wrong. Each had well-formed 
eggs and many of them. They roost high 
in the open air; run out nights and 
mornings on alfalfa. I feed wheat 
mostly, and once every other day, hot 
bran mash with a spoonful of egg- 
maker. Have had over 40 dozen eggs 
without interruption since January 1st, 
from twelve pullets — Minorcas — of my 
own raising. This is the first death I 
have ever had, except of the little chicks. 
Pens are clean, no lice or mites. Have 
studied closely and can't "savy." Per- 
haps you can. The heart of the first 
one seemed the only cause for death, as 
it had a large inforct, probably fatty 



degeneration ; the other was normal. — 
Dr. J. A. B. 

Answer — I think, as your hens died 
on the nest, that they had some diffi- 
culty in laying, and were probably egg- 
bound. The Minorcas laying a large 
egg, are frequently subject to this trou- 
ble, more so, in fact, than the other 
breeds which lay smaller eggs. Strain- 
ing in laying frequently is the cause of 
a blood vessel breaking in the head, 
which, of course, results in apoplexy. 
Minorcas rarely suffer from an overfat 
condition, as they are a very active 
breed. 



Egg-Eating Hens — Would you kindly 
tell me how to treat egg-eating hens? 
What will cure them?— Mrs. R. E. G. 

Answer — The best way is to cut the 
head off the offender and eat her, for 
she is certain to be fat. The informa- 
tion you ask for is as follows : Mr. 
Morse (a chicken expert) gives five 
remedies for the bad habit of egg-eat- 
ing. First : Fit up an arrangement 
whereby the eggs, as soon as layed, slide 
down and out of sight, into a sort of 
false bottom under the nest. The hens 
will not eat them because they cannot 
get them. Second : Have a lot of China 
eggs lying about promiscuous-like on the 
floor. Trying to eat such eggs is likely 
to discourage egg-eating. Third: Fix 
up a hollow egg with aloes. One bite is 
enough. Consult the corner druggist 
as to how to make the mess. Fourth : 
Have grit and crushed oyster shells 
about in abundance in self-feeding box- 
es. Fifth : Do not stuff your hens full 
of mash in the morning and let them 
sit around all day, like "Father" in the 
song, "Everybody Works But Father," 
but feed them grain in litter and make 
them, hustle all day. This keeps them 
out of mischief. Mr. Morse's advice 
may be good, but I recommend using 
trap nests by which means you will eas- 
ily discover the guilty hen, and if she is 
not too valuable, the verdict should be 
decapitation. Keep your oyster shells, 
grit and charcoal before your hens and 
there will be very little egg-eating, for 
it is a vice which always commences 
with weak or soft egg shells. 



194 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

HATCHING WITH INCUBATOR AND HEN 



Poor Hatches — We have been run- 
ning our incubator since February and 
our hatches have been quite poor. Our 
hens are two years old and so are our 
roosters. The hens are fed regularly, 
and have a large run with plenty of al- 
falfa ; a clean airy coop. 

The chicks, when hatched, are strong 
and vigorous. We have some six weeks 
old, and we have not lost one, but when 
they are hatching many die in their 
shells. Out of 450 eggs 77 tested out not 
fertile or dead germs, and out of 373 
remaining eggs, only 182 hatched. We, 
are hatching White Leghorns. Can you 
tell us what to do, or what the matter 
is? We have been following your ad- 
vice in many things. 

Do you think that slamming of doors 
or jarring is bad for incubators when 
hatching?— Mrs. M. F. DeW. 

Answer — I think the fault in your in- 
cubator is that it has not sufficient ven- 
tilation. An insufficiency of oxygen will 
cause poor hatches such as you describe. 
With the care you give your fowls and 
their being two years old, the fault does 
not lie in the parent birds or their eggs, 
therefore it certainly comes from a 
faulty incubator. In the future, air the 
eggs three times a day ; fan out the stale 
air of the incubator each time you air 
the eggs, and if you find they are dry- 
ing out too much, sprinkle them, after 
the first week, twice a week with warm 
water. Slamming the door or jarring, 
the incubator during incubation is not 
advisable, but on the day of hatching it 
would not injure them. 



Infertility — Will you kindly tell me 
what to do to make eggs more fertile? 
I have a fine pen of Columbian Wyan- 
dottes, eight pullets mated with a cock 
two years old. They are fed on dry, 
mash of bran, ground barley, corn meal, 
alfalfa meal and beef scrap, with plenty 
of grit, shell, charcoal and ground bone 
before them all the time, and are run- 
ning in a corral of grass and clover; 
they have plenty of fresh water and the 
hens lay well. What chicks I do get 
are strong and healthy ; out of fifteen 
eggs only two were fertile. 

I have another pen, four hens, two 
years old, mated with a cockerel one 
year old. Fed the same in every way ; 
their shells are smooth but full of clear 



spots. What shall I feed to make shells 
better?— Mrs. E. H. G. 

Answer — The usual requirements 
missing from the food when eggs are 
infertile are green food and animal food, 
therefore, I would advise you to feed 
more green food, more animal food and 
a great deal less barley and corn meal. 
Wyandottes are apt to get too fat to 
have good fertility unless they have 
plenty of exercise and the four old hens 
require more lime. Mix some fresh 
quick lime in water to the consistency 
of pancake batter; let it stand 24 hours, 
then pour' out a cake of it on the ground. 
It will soon dry, and by crumbling a lit- 
tle of it every day, the hens will pick it 
up. Add a teaspoonful of baking soda 
to a quart of their drinking water and 
keep this before them for a week. By 
this means I think your egg shells will 
improve. 



Cripples — Some of my incubator 
chickens are almost cripples when they 
are taken from the incubator. Some 
have crippled, crooked and crumpled up 
toes, others have one leg too short, or 
turned out the wrong way, and some of 
them are not able to stand up — they 
hold their head back so far that they 
fall backward.— A. H. S. 

Answer — The cause of cripples in- 
variably is irregularity of temperature 
in the incubator. Your incubator has 
been too hot at some period, probably 
the last week; this causes cripples. 
Those that hold their heads back do so 
from the eggs not having been turned 
sufficiently during incubation. 

As you do not mention the name of 
the incubator, I cannot tell you just 
where the lack is, it may be poor oil ; it 
may be it is run in a draught and it may 
lack ventilation. 



Lack Oxygen — I took 200 thrifty 
chicks from the incubator about eight 
weeks ago. They did very well for 
about two weeks, when they began to 
die and today I have 50 left, and these 
look too scrubby to be worth raising. I 
have given them extra attention and the 
best feed. They get pale around the 
head, grow weak and are skin and bone 
when they die. I think they have con- 
sumption. The brooder is a tight box 
and no ventilatiotn, except the lid has 



HATCHING WITH INCUBATOR AND HEN 



195 



a round hole about as large as a teacup, 
and the little entrance window about six 
inches square. An iron pipe running 
through is the heating arrangement. In- 
side the box, to fit close over the pipe, is 
a cap of wood with flannel curtains 
dropping to the floor under which the 
chicks hover. Don't you think this is 
too close a place? The outside box is. 
only 6 inches deep, then they hover in- 
side; this only gives 4 inches space for 
the chicks. Please tell me if you think 
the lid to brooder would be better of 
wire or where do you think the trouble 
is? Also tell me how granulated milk 
is prepared. We have lately begun feed- 
ing to everything in the poultry yard, 
beef scraps, bone meal and linseed meal 
in what we think proper proportions 
once a day. Should chicks only eight 
weeks old be fed this ration the same 
as hens? What causes eggs to be ridgy 
and uneven? Can one feed to produce 
larger eggs? Our hens are large, but 
lay small eggs. — Mrs. J. B. S. 

Answer — I think that the lack of oxy- 
gen in your brooder is the only difficulty 
with your chicks. Still, I am very much 
afraid that tuberculosis may have got 
in and infected the brooder. If possible, 
move your chicks into a weaning house, 
open entirely on one side (or only 
closed with chicken wire). Make a lit- 
tle frame of gunny-sacking or out of a 
piece of blanket that they can go under. 
This will rest upon their backs to keep 
them warm. Give them no other heat. 
At this season of the year (August) 
eight weeks old chicks should have no 
heat whatever, at night. I think you are 
keeping your chickens too warm, with- 
out enough fresh air and possibly they 
may have mites or lice. Air their sleep- 
ing place well ; put the hover out into 
the sunshine every day. This will kill 
the germs of tuberculosis better than 
anything. 

Granulated milk is made at Bing- 
hampton, N. Y. I do not know the 
process. 

Chicks eight weeks old can have the 
beef scraps, bone meal and linseed meal 
in the same proportions as hens. 

Uneven eggs are caused either from 
defect in the oviduct or from an insuf- 
ficiency 'of lime or hurried laying. 

Some strains of hens lay small eggs 
and overfat hens will lay small eggs. 
More protein added to their food will 
often increase the size of the eggs : By 
choosing the large eggs for hatching, 



you can increase the size of the eggs 
in the next generation. 



Chicks Dying in Shell — A large per 
cent of my chicks, fully developed, die 
the day they are due to hatch, even af- 
ter pipping the shell. They seem to dry 
in the shell.— Mrs. D. D. 

Answer — Float the eggs in warm wa- 
ter. That will help the chicks to break 
through the shell better than anything 
I know of. Next time try sprinkling the 
eggs after the eighth day twice a week 
with warm water. I think you will find 
it is what is needed in your dry climate, 
and is likely to help matters. 



Fooling the Hen — Is it possible to 
fool a sitting hen into caring for some 
incubator chickens when she has not 
hatched them herself— Mrs. C. R. 

Answer — If your hen has been sitting 
for a week or ten days, she will "take 
to" the chicks as well as though she had 
hatched them herself ; especially if she 
is a Plymouth Rock or Buff Orpington. 
Those two breeds have a greater affec- 
tion for chickens than some of the oth- 
ers. Be sure that the hen is entirely 
clear of lice, and if she is a large hen, 
put from IS to 18 under her at night ; a 
smaller hen should have from 12 to 15, 
not more, if you expect the chickens to 
do well. I have trained capons to act 
as mothers ; they do even better than 
the hens. 



Thermometer — Will you kindly tell 
me where I could get tested thermom- 
eter for incubator ; also where I could 
have one tested which I already have? 
— H. H. C. 

Answer — At any good drug store you 
can have your thermometer tested. If 
you want to buy a new one, go to the 
agent selling your make of incubator. 
Take the new one also to the druggest 
and have him test it thoroughly, be- 
cause the thermometers, as they are sea- 
soned sometimes vary some degrees, and 
even a new one cannot be trusted. 



Helping Them Hatch— I find my 
White Plymouth Rock eggs are very 
slow about hatching and some I know 
would die in the shell if I had not 
dropped a few drops of lukewarm water 
on their heads, as it seemed they would 
get about half out and then the white 
skin would dry on their heads and hold 



196 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



them fast. After having two die in the 
shell, I found they would free them- 
selves if a few drops of warm water 
were sprinkled on them. I kept moist- 
ure in the pans all three days and part 
of the fourth and they are still slowly 
hatching. This is the twenty-third day. 
Do you think I should keep the moisture 
pan full for a week — I mean the last 
week of incubation ? Please send me an 
idea on chick feed, as I cannot get good, 
clean chick feed here. — Mrs. P. W. B. 

Answer — If you had only mentioned 
the name of the incubator you are us- 
ing, I could have better diagnosed your 
case. As it is, all I can say to you is 
to follow the rules and directions they 
give you as closely as possible. With 
some machines it is very advisable to 
sprinkle the eggs twice a week after 
the first week with warm water ; this 
seems to make the shells more brittle 
and prevents the inner lining skin from 
toughening. I have found this better 
than keeping much moisture in the ma- 
chine. The moisture in the machine 
seems to make the chick grow, but does 
not make the shell brittle. Your Ply- 
mouth Rock eggs should hatch prompt- 
ly on the 21st day. The delayed incuba- 
tion indicates that part of the time the 
temperature has been too low. Are you 
sure that your thermometer is perfect- 
ly correct; have you had it tested? On 
the efficiency of "the thermometer much 
depends. Many thermometers that are 
accurate at first become, through the use 
of unseasoned glass in their manufac- 
ture, absolutely incorrect after a few 
months' use. Others are really only 
within two to four degrees of being 
correct, therefore, be sure you have your 
thermometer tested. About the chicken 
feed, write to the Experiment Station, 
University of California, Berkeley. This 
gives you the list of foods available in 
your part of the country, with the proper 
proportion for mixing them, see page 38. 



Eggs for Hatching — Will you kindly 
tell me what is the matter with my 
eggs? They will not hatch well. Our 
hens are Brown Leghorns and Rhode 
Island Reds. I only got fifteen chick- 
ens in my last batch. When we _ break 
the eggs after we know they will not 
hatch we find the chicks dead, but fully 
formed and just ready to hatch. _ Per- 
haps the shells are too hard. Will you 
please tell me what to do to make a 
softer shell? Feed according to your 
directions, 



Is it necessary to put moisture in the 
incubator? Does it hurt the eggs to 
sprinkle them with warm water if we 
think the shells are too hard? I will 
be very thankful if you will answer this, 
as I want to know before I commence 
to save eggs for next incubator lot. I 
do not keep them over two weeks and 
keep them in a cool, dark place, turning 
them every day. — Mrs. G. A. M. 

Answer — I wish I could tell you for 
certain what causes chickens to die in 
the shell. I have my theories about it, 
and I believe it comes from the eggs 
not being aired and cooled sufficiently. 
Cooling them and then warming them 
up again seems to make the shells more 
brittle, and this is the same under hens. 
If I notice that a hen is sitting too 
closely, I take her off twice a day to cool 
the eggs. With an incubator I would 
air them and turn them three times a 
day, and either sprinkle them three 
times during the last ten days or float 
them in warm water two days before 
the hatch is due. Float them from three 
to five minutes, and then put them back 
into the tray while they are wet. I do 
not believe in putting moisture into the 
incubator unless the directions call 
for it. 



Incubator Chicks Dying Off — We 
have started in with the R. I. Reds, and 
have been fairly successful until our 
last hatch. Out of 65 eggs 44 came out. 
Last Saturday they commenced dying 
off, just fell seemingly from, weakness 
and died soon after. We have fed them 
chick feed, bran, Indian meal, cayenne 
pepper, beef scraps, twice per day, and a 
little germazone in water occasionally. 
— C. R. H. 

Answer — From your description I am 
afraid that the chickens have either 
been chilled or may have been overheat- 
ed. Either one of these conditions will 
cause the symptoms you describe. All 
you can do now is to give them rice 
boiled in milk, adding a tablespoonful 
of ground cinnamon to each pint. Give 
them also chopped lettuce and onions. 
Do not give any corn meal or beef 
scraps. When chicks have been over- 
heated either in incubator or brooder, it 
so weakens their bowels that they can- 
not digest their food and they die of 
starvation. 



Poor Hatching — I should like very 
much if you can give me some informa- 



HATCHING WITH INCUBATOR AND HEN 



197 



tion about my hatching eggs in an in- 
cubator. I bought a new incubator this 
spring. I have set it twice and had the 
same results both times. The chicks 
form fully and then most of them die in 
the shell. As the same eggs do fine 
when put under a hen, I think it must 
be that I make some mistake in my 
treatment of the incubator. I have, as 
nearly as possible, followed the instruc- 
tions that came with it. If you can give 
me any assistance, it will be appreciated 
very much. — Mrs. W. D. W. 

Answer — Your incubator is a good 
one. Its fault, for they all have some 
little fault, is that the ventilation is in- 
sufficient. Take the eggs out and air 
them after the first week three times a 
day. This will counteract the lack of 
ventilation. This cooling and then heat- 
ing up again of the eggs makes the shell 
more brittle, so that the chick is able to 
break its way out much more easily. 
Another thing I found in using that in- 
cubator is that by taking the middle 
eggs out of the row, one in each hand, 
and putting them at the end of the row, 
and then pushing the others along into 
the vacant places, I got a ten per cent 
better hatch. I got the idea from Egypt. 
Of course, you must be sure the machine 
stands level and that the thermometer 
is correct. 



Trouble with Incubator — I want to 
ask your advice about our incubator. 
We bought it new in January. Out of 
200 fertile eggs we got 75 chickens, and 
all but nine died before they were 10 
days old. We thought it was the fault 
of the brooder. There were many crip- 
ples among them, but they all died of 
bowel trouble. On April 30th we 
hatched 117 out of 150 fertile eggs, and 
rave the chicks to old hens, as we had 
laid our previous trouble to the brooder. 
But now the last are going the same 
way. Chicks hatched under hens at the 
same time are healthy and strong. We 
have only lost one so far. We feed pre- 
pared chick feed and take the best of 
care of the chicks. The incubator runs 
perfectly, always 103, until the chicks 
begin to work out of the shell, when it 
runs up to 104 and 105. We have set 
the incubator again. It will hatch May 
29th. We do not intend to give up. — 
W. S. R. 

Answer — The trouble is in the incu- 
bation. At some time or other the heat 
has been too great. This is shown by 
there being cripples, I know it, because 



I have had the same experience several 
times myself. Once a hat was thrown on 
the machine ; just touched the regu- 
lator; was only on for half a day. An- 
other time a newspaper did the same 
thing. My big cat slept on the incu- 
bator another night and lost me the 
hatch. Each of the times I worked with 
the little chicks, giving them everything 
I could think of, but without saving 
them. Now, I think there is a possi- 
bility that your incubator does not stand 
level and that, therefore, one side or 
corner of the machine is a very little 
higher than the other. That side or cor- 
ner would be hotter than the other side 
without affecting the thermometer and 
would cause all or most of the trouble. 
Again, are you sure the thermometer is 
correct? Borrow the doctor's clinical 
thermometer. This is what I did, and 
put them both into a bucket containing 
about two quarts of water at 103 de- 
grees and compared the two. You do 
not mention if the hatch came out on 
time. I feel sure that the eggs have 
been overheated, or part of them have, 
and in this way the bowels of the chick- 
ens have been weakened, the yolk of the 
egg has not been digested, and they 
have dwindled and died, or bowel trou- 
ble has come on from the undigested 
yolk putrifying inside of them. I have 
made so many post mortem examinations 
that I feel sure of what I am telling you. 
Examine your incubator with a spirit 
level to see that it is level. Test your 
thermometer and then try again, at 
the same time setting one or two hens, 
and as incubation proceeds examine the 
eggs, comparing them. I think you will 
find that the eggs under the hen dry 
out quicker than those in the incubator. 
However, if this is not the case, if your 
incubator eggs dry out too quickly (the 
air space being larger than that under 
the hens), you will have to regulate this 
by the ventilators of the incubator. Keep 
them closed. As yours is a hot-air in- 
cubator, there is no need of fanning out 
the stale air. The fault, if any, with your 
incubator is too rapid a circulation of 
air, thereby drying the eggs out too 
soon. I .think you had better run it 
half a degree cooler than you have been 
doing. I say this because the cripples 
and bowel troubles denote too high a 
temperature. I hope these hints may 
help you. Let me hear from you again 
if you have any more trouble. 



Natural Incubation — I am a reader 
of your articles and get much good from 



198 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



them. Am a beginner and have a great 
deal to learn. Will you kindly answer 
the following questions : 

1. Should a setting hen ba shut on 
the nest and be let off each day? If so, 
how long should she be allowed to stay 
off the nest? 

2. Do the eggs get enough moisture 
in natural incubation? 

3. Is it good to sprinkle the eggs 
with water? If so, how often and in 
what stages of incubation should this 
be done? 

4. How long should chick feed be 
fed to chicks, and what is best after dis- 
continuing this food? — R. M. 

Answer — It is best not to shut a hen 
on the nest, but to allow her to get on 
and off as she pleases, unless there are 
other hens that can get to the nest to 
disturb her. It is a good plan to take 
the hen off the nest at a regular hour 
every day. I prefer about five o'clock 
in the evening, as then she will go back 
before supper time. A hen can be off 
the nest in pleasant weather from twen- 
ty minutes to half an hour. She should 
be allowed to stay off long enough to eat 
all she Avants and to dust herself. It is 
necessary for her to come off at least 
oYice every twenty-four hours. 

2. Eggs usually get moisture enough 
from the perspiration of the hen. I like 
to float the eggs in warm water two 
days before the hatch comes off. I think 
it helps the eggs to hatch well and it 
also shows, by the eggs bobbing about 
on^ the water, which eggs have live 
chicks in them. 
_ 4. Chick feed should be fed about 
six weeks, but it is best to begin when 
the chicks are three or four weeks old 
to _ add wheat and kaffir corn to the. 
chick food and make the change gradu- 
al. Commence by one-fourth of the 
larger .grains and three-fourths of chick 
feed. Then gradually increase the kaffir 
corn and wheat until that is the prin- 
cipal feed. 



Brooder Chicks — I shall have to come 
to you for help about my little chickens, 
as I know that you know what to do. 

I am only a beginner. I have an in- 
cubator and hot water brooder, and be- 
fore I bought your book I could not 
make them hatch, but now, with its help, 
following- your directions, I have a fine 
hatch. I turned and aired the eggs as 
you said. Now my chicks (White Leg- 
horns) are two weeks old and I have 
lowered the temperature in the brooder 



about one degree a day; but about ev- 
ery other day one will die. I have 
thirty-two in the brooder, so they are 
not crowded at all. I have put insect 
powder on them and they are fed chick 
food ; they have plenty of fresh water 
in a fountain, which I keep in their 
yard. I make them work in alfalfa for 
their feed, as you instructed. They are 
not stuck up behind, as far as I can tell, 
but when one is about to die, it goes 
up into a corner of the brooder under 
the pipe. 

If you will give me advice about what 
to do, I shall be very much obliged, as 
I am, afraid I shall lose them all. — 
N. H. H. 

Answer — -I am glad you had a good 
hatch. The fault with that incubator 
is lack of ventilation, and of the brooder 
is that there is a draught on the floor, 
so that the chicks' feet are cold. I tried 
a good many plans with that brooder, 
and finally I built them over. How- 
ever, the best plan before I changed 
them I found was to put on the floor a 
gunny sack or bit of warm old carpet, 
and on that put nearly two inches of 
chaff or finely cut straw or hay. I also 
left the lid a little bit open. Before that 
the chicks' heads got too hot on the 
pipes and their little feet too cold. 

I am rather surprised that they have 
not been troubled with diarrhoea. 



Faulty Incubation — I am a begin- 
ner in the poultry business and would 
like to ask you a few questions that have 
been troubling me : 

1. I have been hatching chickens and 
ducks in an incubator and they don't 
hatch as well as with a hen. I find quite 
a number dead in the shells. I do not 
understand it as I follow the directions 
that come with the machine. 

2. A number of the chicks "walk 
around on their knees." Some of their 
legs stick straight up and they flop along 
on the joint with the aid of their wings. 
They soon die. Why is this? Is there 
any way to avoid it? 

3. I had twenty ducks hatch with 
hens and have only eleven left. We first 
notice them to lag behind the rest, then 
as they grow more stupid they fall over 
with their heads thrown back as people 
do when they have spinal meningitis. 
Can you tell by this description what 
was the matter with them.? — L. B., Cor- 
coran. 

Answer — The trouble is that the heat 
has been irregular in your incubator, 



YARD ROOM 



199 



and probably the eggs have not been 
aired sufficiently. 

2. Cripples, such as you describe, in- 
variably come from overheating, espe- 
cially the last ten days in the incubator. 
It may be only for a few hours. It is 
such a pity, for it always seems to be 
the biggest and best chicks. I have once 
or twice succeeded in straightening out 
the legs and setting the knee, fastening 
it with a rubber. 

3. • The trouble with the ducks is se- 
vere indigestion. It may be they have 
not had sand enough in their food, or 
they have eaten some animal food that 
was not fresh— was decaying. Lack of 
shade will give the same symptoms. The 
drinking vessel must be deep enough for 
them to get their entire bill under water, 
for they require to rinse their nostrils 
many times a day and will die if they 
cannot. 



Brooders— (Mrs. S. M. G.)— I would 
like to tell you about the brooders I 



made from your description of them. I 
have used the Fireless Brooder for five 
months and have had no trouble in get- 
ting the chicks to go inside when they 
are cold. When I first put fifty chicks 
into the Fireless, the weather was cold 
and at first I found, like others, that the 
little fellows did not know where to go 
when they felt cold, so on the third day 
I put a gallon jug of hot water in the 
center of the brooder, covering the jug 
with a hood made of several layers of 
newspaper. I took two or three chicks 
and held them against the jug until 
their happy chirping brought all the 
others ; after that I had no trouble. I 
removed the jug at night and put it 
back in the morning for a few days, 
filling it with less warm water each 
morning. During the summer months I 
did not find it necessary to put any at- 
traction in the brooders as the chicks 
seemed warm enough from the first to 
spend the entire day in the sun. 

This account from Mrs. G. will in- 
terest and help many of our readers. 



YARD ROOM 



How Many Chickens to Keep on a 
City Lot— Will you kindly tell me how 
many chickens can be kept on a city lot 
seventy-five by a hundred and eighty 
feet ? Do you think chickens will lay 
well during the rainy season in Seattle, 
Wash., if they are properly fed and 
housed ? How big a house do we need 
for fifty chickens ? 

Last September we bought thirty Ply- 
mouth Rock hens and thirty pullets. We 
got from ten to sixteen eggs from the 
hens per day, until about the middle of 
December, when they began to fall off. 
We are still getting that amount, but 
half of them are from the pullets. Do 
you think they are doing as well as we 
could expect? — Mrs. L. E. S. 

Answer — In your climate it would 
very much depend upon the shelter from 
the rain that you can give the chickens. 
Fifty chickens should be divided into 
two pens with two houses. Each house 
not less than ten by twelve feet in size. 
I would advise a good scratching pen to 
be made either adjoining the house and 
covered with a roof, or else make the 
scratching pen to extend underneath 
the dropping boards. You might keep 
several hunndred hens upon land 75 x 



180 feet, if you have ample house room 
for them, so they would be well shel- 
tered from the rain. Hens that are wet 
every day will not lay well. Your fowls 
are doing well, considering the wet 
weather you are having. 



How Many on Two Acres — I have 
two acres of land, of which I will have 
a hundred feet by one hundred feet for 
an alfalfa patch, the rest for chickens to 
run around and have the patch for them 
to feed on for an hour or so before go- 
ing to roost. Kindly let me know how 
many chickens I can raise on the two 
acres at the most. — M. J. P. 

Answer — I think you can keep a thou- 
sand chickens on your two acres. You 
must be careful not to have more than 
fifty to roost in one house. It is the 
crowded condition of houses at night 
that brings trouble and disease. Be sure 
to give them shade during the day and 
plenty of good fresh water, besides, of 
course, the balanced ration. Allow them 
two hours a day on the alfalfa patch. 



Five Acres — Will you kindly tell me 
how many White Leghorns I can suc- 
cessfully raise on five acres of land? I 



2C0 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



want to grow alfalfa and some veg- 
etables for feed. 

Will you also tell me if I can hatch 
turkeys in an incubator? — J. W. L. 

Answer — You can raise a large num- 
ber of Leghorns on five acres of land. 
I know one party that has 3000 Leg- 
horns on three acres, but it entirely de- 
pends upon knowing how to do and do- 
ing it right. Better begin with a small 
number and when you succeed with 
those increase your flock. 

Turkeys can be hatched in an incu- 
bator and raised in a brooder, but must 
be kept entirely separate from chickens 
or they will die. 



Yard Room — I want to raise about 60 
pullets for next winter. I have about 
a hundred chicks hatched out. All the 
yard room I can spare is on a town lot 
about 50 x 75 feet. Do you think this 
would be enough room for them? — Mrs. 
J. F. Y. 

Answer — It all depends upon the care 
you give them ; if you can supply them 
with shade, plenty of green food, clean 



water and a good scratching place and 
the proper food, it will be plenty large 
enough. Be sure to keep them clean 
and free from mites and lice. 



Burclar Alarm — I refer to the men- 
tion made by you of an electric burglar 
alarm to protect poultry houses, and 
would venture to inquire whether such 
an alarm may be installed by one not a 
professional electrician. Upon what 
principle is it based, and what are the 
materials needed? — H. M. 

Answer — I put in the burglar alarm 
you speak of myself. I am not a pro- 
fessional electrician, but I went to the 
electrical supply house, bought from 
them the ordinary alarm fixtures which 
are used at the door and windows of 
residences ; they explained to me how to 
set them, and I did it by their directions. 
I did not find it difficult. None of the 
doors or windows in my hennery could 
be opened four inches without the alarm 
gong at the head of my bed ringing. I 
should think you would have to under- 
stand a little about it to put them in. 



MATING AND BREEDING 



Age for Mating — I wish to ask if a 
cockerel should be mated after he at- 
tains a year in age or can he just as 
well stay till a year and a half or two 
years old before being mated? 

Also I wish to know if it is quite as 
advantageous to mate a rooster with a 
pullet- of his own clutch, supposing the 
pullet and rooster are both a year and 
a half old. I would like to do that if 
you think it advisable. — M. S. H. 

Answer — The earliest age at which a 
cockerel may be mated should be about 
ten months, not earlier if you want 
large, vigorous chickens. I consider the 
best age for getting sturdy chicks is for 
both parents to be about two years of 
age. You can keep a male bird as long 
as you wish without mating him, but he 
should be entirely out of sight and out 
hearing of the hens, otherwise he will 
fret to get to them. I have known sev- 
eral to drop down dead from getting too 
much excited at seeing other young- 
males in the pens with the hens. 

From a year and a half to three years 
of age is undoubtedly the best age at 
which to mate the fowls, but you can 
have very good results with older fowls. 



In your place I would certainly mate the 
year and a half male with the year and 
a half hen and expect good results, for 
they should both be in their prime. 



Mating Brother and Sister — Is there 
any objections to mating a rooster with 
hens of his own clutch if they are all 
old enough, say a year and a half or two 
years old?— Mrs. G. S. H. 

Answer — It is considered best not to 
mate brother and sister together, yet 
this is always done in making any new 
breed, and as yours comes from a three 
hundred egg a year hen, I would advise 
you to do so. 



Breeding — I have a nice R. I. R. cock- 
erel. He is good shape and color, but 
he is not up to standard weight. If I 
breed from him will he produce chicks 
larger than himself if they are well tak- 
en care of? Is there any chance of get- 
ting perfect specimens from fowls un- 
der weight? I bought some very fine 
looking hens, but their breasts are un- 
even. I also got eggs from the same 
stock and the pullets have crooked 



MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



201 



breasts. Kindly tell me if that trouble 
will be handed down if I breed from 
them.— Mrs. C. R. 

Answer— As a rule, the chicks take 
their size from the mother. If your R. 
I. R. hens have a good size, the chick- 
ens will be larger than the cockerel, if 
you feed them for large frame. If the 
hens are under weight and size, you may 



have difficulty in increasing the size of 
the offspring. Some people think that 
crooked breastbones come from chick- 
ens roosting on a narrow perch when 
they are young ; however, I think it is 
generally conceded that crooked breast- 
bones are often hereditary. You will 
know if your chickens have roosted at 
too early an age. If not, it is hereditary 
and you had better change the strain. 



MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



Shipping Young Chicks — Do you 
think I can order eggs incubated 31 
miles from here and have the young 
chicks sent by stage with perfect safety? 

We are feeding corn of our own 
growing which is quite musty. I have 
been afraid of it, but so far cannot see 
that it has hurt them, although yester- 
day a hen sat around all day droopy like. 
I wondered if the musty corn affected 
her. 

Last summer I brought into the house 
some small chicks that seemed about to 
die, and seeing they had lice, I dusted 
them thoroughly with buhach. The lice 
soon dropped off of them, but the 
chickens died. Can too much powder 
be put on them? — Mrs. C. S. 

Answer — Chickens could travel a 
thousand miles before they are twenty- 
four hours old if packed in a box care- 
fully. That is, of course, before they 
are fed. Last year I sent some from 
Los Angeles to Berkeley. They were 
out 36 hours, but arrived in perfect con- 
dition, all vigorous and ready for their 
first meal in their new home nearly a 
thousand miles away. 

Musty wheat or corn is very unwhole- 
some for chickens. Buhach would not 
kill the most delicate chicken or turkey, 
but is death to all insect life. The 
chickens were doubtless dying before 
you powdered them. 



Castor Bean Bushes — I have been 
thinking of planting castor bean bushes 
in the chicken yard for shade, but was 
advised by a neighbor not to do it, as 
the beans would drop off and if chick- 
ens ate them they would be poisoned. 
Would like your advice, please. The 
bushes grow quickly and make good 
shade, so would like to try them. Do 
you think it would be O. K?— J. H. S. 



Answer — Castor beans are poisonous 
to both ducks and chickens if they eat 
them, so I would advise you to plant 
something else. Get cuttings of fig trees, 
about ten inches long, bury the whole 
length except one inch, water well, and 
you will have shade in a few months 
and fruit in two years. I find figs ex- 
cellent in the chicken yard, and the 
chickens do not eat the leaves and bark. 
Would advise planting also other fruit 
trees and the quantities of fruit you will 
have will soon repay the trouble. In the 
meantime you might plant sunflowers. 
They make good shade and their seed is 
excellent food for the chickens. 



Capons — -Will you kindly give us an 
article on capons? What is the demand 
for them, if any? What do you think 
of the difference in profits between them 
and broilers? If there is any truth in 
the statements published in regard to 
capons in the Eastern markets, they 
ought to be money-makers here. Am 
fitted for the business, but desire more 
information in that line before attempt- 
ing much. I think the R. I. Reds would 
make extra good ones, and I should like 
marketing mature birds instead of those 
a few months old. Capons for the Phil- 
adelphia market have to be a year old to 
command the best prices. — H. J. K. 

Answer — Capons bring a good price 
now in Los Angeles, especially if you 
can make a contract with some of the 
large hotels for them. This you can 
only do by having a large and regular 
supply. The price last year was from 
30c to 35c per pound, which is a paying- 
price. Broilers pay about as well when 
you take into consideration that you can 
turn them off at eight weeks of age. 
This would be your better plan, as you 
are limited for space and you would 
not have the expense and trouble of car- 



202 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



rying them for another ten months. I 
would advise you to sell as broilers all 
the young males you do not wish to keep 
for breeders. This will give you more 
room for the pullets and you need space 
to have your pullets develop well for 
the fall and winter egg market. Capons 
are, undoubtedly, money-makers for 
those who have plenty of space, and 
where food is cheaper than it is here 
this year. Personally, I found that ca- 
pons did not pay as well as roasters. 
These were young roosters that were 
about eight months old and that I milk 
fed. I found I had to keep my young- 
males until I could see how they would 
develop. I began by caponizing, but be- 
ing economically inclined, I found the 
milk - fed, uncaponized. eight - months 
youngsters paid me best. Since then the 
market for capons has improved here, 
and if you had more room, and could 
buy up young cockerels, caponize them 
at about three months of age and turn 
them off in the following spring, just 
when turkeys go out, you might make 
some profit on them. It has been found 
that the Brahmas or crosses of the 
Brahmas are the best for capons . 



From Far Away Alaska — Commenc- 
ing with the first of March for the last 
three years my chickens begin to lose 
their feathers in front of their neck. I 
feed them wheat, corn, shorts, cooked 
potatoes and cabbage. They have no 
lice. I also give them plenty of char- 
coal and grit. I have a chicken house 
30 x 30, logs with moss between, lined 
inside with shakes. I also keep fire in 
a stove to keep out dampness. — H. C. C, 
Sumdum, Alaska. 

Answer — Not knowing your climate, 
scarcely like to venture an opinion about 
the reason for your hens losing their 
feathers. Your rations seem good, all 
except there is no animal food in it. I 
think you should give them fish with 
their cooked potatoes. Do not feel 
alarmed about them losing their feath- 
ers, as it may be on account of the cli- 
mate. 



Technical Names — Will you please 
tell me how old "friers," "broilers" and 
"springs" are? When is it safe to feed 
wheat and mash to chicks? — Mrs. M. N. 

Answer — It is not by the age that we 
decide upon the size of the chickens, or 
their names. "Squab broilers" weigh 
one pound and are usually from a small 
breed, fattened as quickly as possible, 



the age being about six or seven weeks. 
"Broilers" weigh from one to two 
pounds, the age being about eight 
weeks. "Friers" weigh from one pound 
to two and a half pounds ; age, about 
ten weeks. Young "roasters" from two 
and a half to three or four pounds, age 
about three months. 

Feed the wheat to chicks as soon as 
they will eat 'it, commencing to add it 
to the chick feed. I commence also to 
add kaffir corn at the same time. Some 
chickens will eat it earlier than others ; 
mine, a large breed, usually will take it 
at three weeks. 



Henpecked Husbands — I cannot keep 
my hens from picking the combs of the 
roosters. Could you tell me the reason 
for it? Also a remedy for it? I have 
tried everything I know for it. I feed 
meat twice a week. — R. M. 

Answer — This habit or vice usually 
comes from a lack of green food or meat 
in the ration. Very often the habit is 
acquired by imitation and thus it may 
be introduced into a flock by a new 
bird which had contracted it elsewhere, 
or it is spread through the flock from 
a bird which is led to it by indigestion 
or other disease of the stomach. It is 
sometimes started by lice. The hen sees 
one crawling on her mate's comb and 
tries to peck at it, wounds the comb, 
tastes the warm sweet blood and keeps 
up the habit. The others imitate her 
until the poor henpecked husband is in 
a sorry plight. The preventive is plenty 
of green food, plenty of exercise and 
animal food. The cure, the hatchet for 
the worst hens, or if they are too valu- 
able, let them run without the male 
bird, only admitting him to the pen for 
an hour a day in the afternoon. Give 
the hens a good run in a grass-covered 
yard. Feed plenty of green vegetables ; 
onions chopped are particularly effica- 
cious. If the yard is small, prepare a 
scratching shed, covering the floor deep- 
ly with straw and scatter grain in the 
straw for the morning meal, so the 
fowls will be compelled to scratch and 
work to find it. Add bicarbonate of soda 
to the drinking water in the proportion 
of about 20 grains to the quart ; put a 
small quantity of salt in the food, or nail 
up a piece of salt pork for the hens to 
peck. 



Painting Brooders — Will you kindly 
tell me if painting the brooder on the 



MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



203 



inside with crude oil will injure little 
chicks ? 

We have ordered 100 Brown Leg- 
horns for March 15, and have got a 
second-hand brooder. Of course, we 1 
want it perfectly clean, as we are be- 
ginners and are striving for success. A 
friend of ours gave us five gallons of 
crude oil and insisted on our using it, 
but I thought it wise to ask some one 
more experienced. Thanking you in* ad- 
vance, yours truly. — Mrs. G. S. McW. 

Answer — I would not advise you to 
paint the inside of your brooder with 
anything as strong as crude oil. It will 
do very well to paint the outside of the 
hen house and the outside of the brood- 
er house, and will last for several years, 
preserve the wood and keep away ver- 
min, but is too strong for the little 
chicks. 

I will tell you what I would do were 
I in your place. I would take good hot 
suds and a brush, either a whisk broom 
or a scrubbing brush, and thoroughly 
scrub out the brooder. If I thought 
there were any mites or lice in it, I 
would add -a cupful of coal oil (kero- 
sene) to the suds. I would then put it 
in the sun to dry, and when it was dry 
I would wash it all over — hover, felt 
and everything — with a solution of bi- 
chloride of mercury. You can get tab- 
lets of it very cheap at any drug store. 
Put about four or six tablets in a pint 
of water and when it is dissolved wash 
all over the brooders with it. Or get 
corrosive sublimate ; have the druggist 
dissolve it in alcohol, and paint that over 
the inside of the brooder. This will de- 
stroy all germs of any disease or any 
vermin. This way of soapsuds, followed 
by the mercury, is the most perfect dis- 
infectant you can find. It will kill tu- 
berculosis, chicken-pox, cholera^ etc., 
germs, and has no bad smell to injure 
chicks. 



How Long? — Would you kindly an- 
swer how long after the eggs have start- 
ed in the hen does it take before the 
hen lays? Thanking vou in anticipa- 
tion.— W. B. M. 

Answer — As soon as a pullet is three 
months old there will be found inside 
her a bunch of tiny embryo eggs. These 
are called the ovaries or egg organs. If 
the hen is active, in good health and 
properly fed, these will, one after an- 
other, turn into eggs, but the hen must 
be fed the elements of the egg in order 



for her to make the eggs, and it all 
depends upon the food how long it will 
take the hen to accumulate the proper 
proportion of each element to make the 
eggs, that is, the elements of the egg 
rightly balanced, enough fat and protein 
to make the yolk, enough albumen and 
water for the white, enough lime for the 
shell, each in its right proportion. 



Soft Shell Eggs — Please tell me why 
my chickens and turkeys lay soft shell 
eggs.— R. A. D. 

Soft shell eggs come either from an 
insufficient supply of lime in the rations 
or overstimulation of the egg organs 
by the use of spice or so-called egg 
foods. Worms may increase in the in- 
testines to such an extent as to stimu- 
late the egg passage to push along the 
egg beyond its usual distance. An over- 
fat hen has a tendency toward laying 
thin-shelled eggs. 

Dr. Woods gives this advice : "Fowls 
kept closely confined in cold weather 
and not given a sufficient variety of food 
are apt to lay soft-shelled eggs. The 
trouble may be due to some disturbance 
of the egg organs or to improper food, 
careless feeding and lack of exercise. It 
usually responds very promptly to treat- 
ment. See t that the birds are supplied 
with plenty of good grit and oyster shell. 
Feed green food, scalded short-cut al- 
falfa or clover. • Also give cabbage, 
beets and turnips fed raw whenever they 
can be obtained. Feed a variety of good, 
sound grain and some animal food. The 
grain should be fed in the scratching 
pen." 



Saw Off Long Spurs — I wish a little 
information in regard to a rose-comb 
Rhode Island Red rooster two and a 
half years old. He has very long spurs, 
which makes it difficult for him in 
scratching when I feed them in the 
scratching pen. Is there any way of 
taking them off? 

Answer — It is very advisable always 
to cut the long spurs off the male birds, 
as they are very apt to injure the hens 
with them. I find the best way is to 
saw them off with a fine meat saw about 
an inch from the leg. I do not saw them 
close enough to draw blood. You can 
also file them off, but sawing is quicker, 
and if the edges are rough, use a small 
file to make them smooth. 



204 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



Chicken Manure — Please answer im- 
mediately. How can chicken manure be 
preserved, and where can it be disposed 
of, and at what price? Answer and 
oblige.— Mrs. M. A. S. 

Answer — The easiest way of preserv- 
ing chicken droppings is by placing dry 
earth or sand or kainit under the perch- 
es, sweeping this up two or three times 
a week and placing it in barrels or 
boxes. Anyone with a citrus orchard 
is glad to get it for fertilizing the 
trees. I know one man who pays $7.50 
per ton for it. I do not know what the 
market value is, but I know that it is 
considered worth just four times as 
much as stable manure and that it is a 
most excellent fertilizer. 



Fireless Brooder — I make bold to ask 
vou for a little information. Will you 
kindly tell me of the fireless brooder? 
Can you give me the plans for construct- 
ing one, or tell me where I can get the 
olans? Can little chicks just hatched 
be put in the fireless brooder? — Mrs. 
W. W. G. Arizona. 

Answer — Take a box about ten inches 
deep, and from a foot and a half to two 
feet square. Rip the box six inches from 
the bottom to four inches from the top, 
so there will be two boxes, one six 
inches, the other four inches deep with- 
out cover. Hinge them together so they 
will close as they were before being 
sawed in two. Near the top make three 
one-inch holes in the two ends for ven- 
tilation. For the hover make a frame 
of one-and-a-half by one-inch lumber, 
so it will fit inside the box. On the 
under side of this frame tack cloth 
loosely, so it will hang in the center 
nearly two inches below the frame. The 
cloth is to touch the chicks' backs. Nail 
cleats across the ends of the lower box 
to hold the frame in position. The top 
of the frame should be even with the 
top edge of the lower box. Cut a hole 
on the opposite side of the bottom box 
to the hinges, for the chickens to go in 
and out. 

A friend who made this brooder 
tacked a piece of burlap on the floor 
and then filled it almost up to the cloth 
on the frame (the hover) with finely cut 
straw or hay. He then scooped out a 
nest in the center of it and put the baby 
chicks into it. The two-foot size is large 
enough to contain from one dozen to 
fifty chicks for one week, twenty-five till 
they are three weeks old, and twenty till 



they are six weeks old, or about that 
age. On very cold nights at first he put 
a little piece of blanket on top of the 
hover. As the chicks grew older he 
lessened the amount of straw or chaff, 
when the chicks were large enough to 
raise the heat sufficiently. After using 
this brooder (home made) all last win- 
ter, he said he would never be without 
it. Personally, I think it would be a 
good plan to let in a slide of glass at 
one side, as chickens do not like to go 
into a dark place. I do not know where 
you can get plans for making a brood- 
er, but you can buy fireless brooders at 
any of the large poultry supply houses 
advertising in this book. This is Mr. 
Killifer's brooder. 



Dipping Hens — Would you be so 
kind_ as to write and let me know about 
dipping hens, etc? I have a flock of 
somewhere between five and six hun- 
dred. I notice some of them have lice 
and bunches of nits on their feathers. 
Whenever I have caught a hen I have 
greased her well, but this would take 
too long to go through the bunch. Is 
there any dip that would be strong 
enough and do no harm to the birds that 
would kill the nits with only one dip- 
ping?— W. B. 

Answer — As you have so large a flock 
of hens and do not seem able or inclined 
to pull out the feathers that have nits 
on them. I think you will have to dip 
them twice, with an interval of five or 
six days. The nits are sure to hatch 
out in about five days after they are de- 
posited by the lice, and by twice dipping 
them you should get most of them. It 
is an excellent plan in warm weather 
just at the commencement of the moult, 
to immerse the fowls in a diluted kero- 
sene emulsion, wetting 1 them, thoroughly 
to the skin, or dip them in strong to- 
bacco water, or a solution of two per 
cent creolin or chloro naphtholeum. A 
well-known poultryman gives the fol- 
lowing advice : Take the strongest and 
purest tobacco, 25 cents' worth being 
ample to clean off three hundred fowls. 
Make a decoction quite strong. If the 
user will observe a few points, no one 
will ever regret using tobacco to kill 
lice and not a solitary one will be left. 

First, if the dipping is done out of 
doors, the thermometer should be at least 
80 in the shade; second, the water 
should never be more than blood warm, 
say 98 degrees ; third, and this is the 
most important point, every solitary 



MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



205 



feather must be made soaking wet, else 
you will not make a clean job of it. In 
dipping all fowls having heavy plum- 
age, like the Brahmas and Cochins, the 
feathers must be raised with the hand 
and the water allowed to thoroughly wet 
the bird to the skin. This takes from 
one to two minutes for large, well- 
feathered fowls, if a dry feather is left 
there will be lice upon it. Do not dip 
the head under, but when the fowl is- 
quiet, dip the head until all is under up 
to the eyes. When they will not hold 
still, use a small sponge and wet the top 
of their heads. No one who has fowls 
troubled with lice need fear to try this. 
It is very effective. 

You must thoroughly clean the houses 
to get rid of the lice, and paint the 
perches with a good lice paint or liquid 
lice killer. 

Give the hens a nice freshly dug up 
dust bath and they will keep themselves 
clean of lice. You can add one of the 
good lice powders to the dust bath if 
you wish. 



Formula for Chick Feed — The for- 
mula for chick feed that you want is as 
follows : 

Chick feed for little chicks from the 
time they are hatched : 30 lbs. cracked 
wheat, 30 lbs. rolled or steel-cut oats, 
IS lbs. finely cracked corn, 10 lbs. each 
of rich, millet, pearl barley, mustard or 
rape seed, granulated or ground bone, 
dried blood or granulated milk, chick 
grit, 5 lbs. granulated charcoal. 

Mix and keep always before the 
chicks. Also clean water and skim milk 
if you have it. Note in the chick feed 
that wheat, oats and cracked corn are 
the chief ingredients. The others are 
to give a variety, and if you cannot get 
them, you just will have to leave them 
out. The bone and the dried blood are 
the animal part of the ration and can be 
substituted by fresh meat or milk or 
clabber or cottage cheese. 

A formula for laying hens which I 
have used for years is : Two measures 
of bran, one measure of alfalfa meal, 
one measure of beef scraps, and in the 
breeding season one measure of oatmeal 
or rolled oats. This mixture can be 
used as a dry mash or mixed with wa- 
ter as a moist (but not sloppy) mash. 
I add a little pepper and salt to it to 
season it. 

At moulting time I also add a quar- 
ter of a measure of linseed meal, or, if 
I cannot get that, half a measure of cot- 
tonseed meal, and sometimes a little 



tome to help on the moult. The linseed 
meal gives a gloss to the new feathers 
that nothing else will give. The hens 
should have before them all the time 
good, sharp grit and oyster shells 
crushed. The oyster shells are to sup- 
ply the lime to make the egg shell. 

Broken Down Hen— There are two 
things I am anxious to know and I think 
you can help me from your experience. 
I have a hen whose hind part has been 
gradually swelling until now it nearly 
touches the ground. The feathers have 
all dropped out of her head. I think an 
egg may have been broken inside, but 
she seems so healthy that hardly seems 
possible. Please state cure, if anv — 
G. F. M. 

Answer— Your hen has what we call 
a 'break down." This is the result of 
a too fattening diet or too much corn, 
and too little of the muscle, bone-form- 
ing and egg elements. There is a large 
fat deposit in the abdomen, bulging and 
dragging down the skin and muscles, 
giving an ungainly appearance to the 
bird. It is a question whether to diet 
her or to eat her. I would advise the 
latter, as she will not prove a very good 
layer_ after this. The bareness of head 
also indicates an unbalanced ration and 
an insufficiency of "protein," the feather 
making element. A little carbolated 
vaseline rubbed in twice a week and 
more green food and more animal food 
in the ration will recify this. 



For Layers — Will you please answer 
the following questions : Will hens lay 
as well without the male bird? 

Which would you advise me to keep 
for breeders, pullets, hatched last spring, 
which are laying now, or the one-year- 
old hens? 

Which is the best feed for them to 
produce eggs, the warm mash in the 
morning and corn at night or the dry 
feed — Mrs. O. G. L. 

Answer— 1. Yes, and the eggs will 
keep better. 

2. Keep hens for mothers and pul- 
lets for your winter layers is the best 
rule. i.>.y.j 

3. I prefer to give the mash, if I 
give any, at night; then I can use up 
the table scraps, mixing them with bran, 
corn meal and alfalfa meal, giving the 
fowls either dry mash in hoppers or 
grain in their scratching pen, to induce 
them to exercise for their day meal. In 
this way I get more eggs. 



206 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



Testing Out Infertile Eggs — I note 
in the paper an advertisement for an 
egg-tester which claims that it is pos- 
sible to test out the infertile eggs be- 
fore setting. Will you please tell me if 
you think this is possible? — Mrs. J. 
F. Y. 

Answer — The advertisement which 
you mention was misleading. The way 
in which it tested the eggs was by float- 
ing them with the instrument in water ; 
if they proved heavy enough to sink to 
a certain depth it showed that the egg 
was rich enough to support the life of a 
chick, should there be a germ in that 
egg. The machine could not show 
whether there was a germ in the egg, 
consequently it could not show if the 
egg was fertilized or not. The little 
germ is so infinitesimally small that it 
would make no appreciable difference in 
the weight of the egg. 



Packing Eggs for Hatching — Will 
you kindly answer the following: 

1. How long can one keep eggs for 
setting. 



2. How is the best way to ship eggs 
for setting so they will not get broken? 
—Mrs. C. D. D. 

Answer — 1. You can keep your eggs 
three weeks or even more by turning 
them every day, but you must remem- 
ber that the longer you keep them the 
fewer will hatch and they will not be as 
vigorous chicks as if the eggs had been 
fresh when set. 

2. You 'can now get egg boxes made 
for packing eggs for expressing, or you 
can pack them in common slat baskets 
or peach baskets. I really prefer the 
baskets. I put a layer of excelsior in 
the bottom of the basket, then wrap each 
egg in 'a piece of newspaper about six 
inches square; set them little end down, 
packing excelsior between them, then 
put a layer of excelsior on the top, and 
cover with burlap, sewing it into the 
basket with twine. Mark plainly, "Eggs 
for hatching, handle with care." In the 
many thousands of eggs I have sent 
out, only two baskets had any broken 
eggs. 



TURKEY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



Tomatoes for Turkeys— I am feeding 
my turkeys a small ration of ripe to- 
matoes. Is this a proper food for them? 
— W. F. G. 

Answer — A small amount of ripe to- 
matoes will not do your turkeys any 
harm. They are very fond of them, and 
it will benefit them, although there is 
very little nourishment in the tomatoes ; 
the acidity seems to agree with them. 



Turkeys Have Chicken-Pox — What 
is the matter with my young turkeys, 
and what shall I do for them? All over 
their heads and bills there are lumps 
forming like warts. Some of them have 
just a few, while others have their 
heads covered with them. The turkeys 
are about half grown. They are not 
penned up and have plenty of green al- 
falfa. We feed wheat and meat scraps 
occasionally. — Miss M. M. 

Answer — Your turkeys have chicken- 
pox. The cure is to apply carbolic salve 
or carbolated vaseline. In three days 
bathe the affected parts with warm 
soapsuds in which are a few drops of 
carbolic acid, and again apply the salve. 



Add a little sulphur to their food. This 
will hasten the cure. They should be 
cured in a little over a week. Be sure 
to separate all the fowls affected from 
the flock. This will prevent the spread- 
ing of the disease. 

Dr. Haring of the University of Cali- 
fornia recommends to paint the spots or 
warts with iodine twice a week. This is 
rather a severe treatment but a sure. 



Turkeys Lame — Will you kindly tell 
me what to do for my turkeys? My 
early hatches did fine, but of the late 
hatch, four of them were troubled with 
stiff legs, one died, and one got well, 
but the other two are still lame, the 
knee joints are swollen and kind of 
pink color. Their appetites are good. 
— K. C. 

Answer — Your turkeys have rheuma- 
tism. This comes from their liver being 
affected, by cold or damp weather. Give 
each of the affected turkeys a small 
liver pill, followed by a one-grain qui- 
nine pill every day for a week. Bathe 
the knee joints with the following: One 
cup of vinegar, one cup of turpentine, 



TURKEY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



207 



one heaping tablespoon of saltpeter. 
Mix, keep in a bottle, shake before us- 
ing. I think this will cure them. Be 
careful not to give them any corn or 
corn meal, and give plenty of lettuce 
and onion. 



them grass or alfalfa to run on and they 
will do well. 



General Care oe Turkeys — I would 
like to ask a few questions about tur- 
keys. You mentioned raising them in 
a brooder. 1. How warm should one 
have the brooder when the poults are 
first put in? 1. At the end of the first 
week what should the temperature be 
lowered to? 3. Is alfalfa meal neces- 
sary or of any benefit to little poults or 
to little chicks if they have all the green 
barley they will eat, cut fine? — A Be- 
ginner. 

Answer — The heat under the hover 
should be about 95. The reason I say 
"about" is that on a very warm, sunny 
day it might be a little lower, but should 
the outside temperature be cold or the 
weather damp and gloomy, it might be 
up to 95 for the best results. 2. About 
85, depending somewhat on the outside 
air and weather. Gradually lower the 
temperature till you get it to 70 or 80, 
according to the weather. 3. No ! Lit- 
tle turkeys require the succulent green, 
not the dried hay, ground up. Give 
them lettuce chopped up at first with 
every meal ; then either lettuce, dande- 
lion leaves, onion tops chopped fine, 
or cabbage or the tender leaves of beets. 
Any green vegetable that you would eat 
yourself will do and also the green bar- 
ley as long as it is succulent and tender. 
Barley soon gets tough and hard and 
then it is not suitable for the little tur- 
keys. 



Keep Separate from Chicks — Will 
you kindly give me some information 
concerning newly hatched turkeys? We 
have two hens and a torn. Would you 
advise keeping them awav from chick- 
ens?— Mrs. C. B. 

Answer — Little turkeys" do much bet- 
ter when kept away from chickens. They 
require, or do better, on different food, 
and when very young require to be kept 
quiet, whilst the chicks like to scratch 
and rustle. Turkeys move more slowly 
and need rest and quiet. Then, again, 
corn, kaffir corn and corn meal suit 
chickens, but ferment inside the little 
turkeys and give them diarrhoea, which 
is often fatal. Let the turkey mothers 
take care of the little turkeys and give 



Turkeys — I am glad if I have been 
able to help you with your turkeys, and 
will try to reply to your questions, but I 
wish you could give your turkeys free 
range as they are the Bronze, for that 
most beautiful breed is nearer to the wild 
than any other and, therefore, need 
more than any, a good wide free range 
to keep them healthy. A turkey on the 
range eats a few seeds, then sees an in- 
sect, maybe a grasshopper, and chases 
after that, which is good exercise. Af- 
ter a run he finds perhaps a nice little 
pebble or a few green leaves or twigs, 
and so on. He only eats a very little 
at a time and exercises between each 
mouthful and this is the way a turkey 
should eat. The nearer we can come to 
copying nature in feeding turkeys, the 
better success we shall have. Now, with 
this prelude I will try to answer your 
questions to the best of my ability. 

1. How much grain and what kinds 
should I feed? 2. Should I give them 
bran and beef scraps? 3. Or do you 
prefer granulated milk? 4. How much 
of the milk should they have? 5. Should 
I feed more than twice a day? 6. Is 
there any food which should be always 
before them?— Mrs. C. F. S. 



Keeping twenty young three-m.onth- 
old turkeys yarded is a very serious 
proposition, unless your yard is an un- 
usually large one with plenty of shade 
and sunshine. 1. Wheat is the best 
grain for turkeys until about two or 
three weeks before you want to kill 
them, then you can add corn. 2. You 
can give bran and beef scraps, but, 3, I 
prefer granulated milk and bran, as it 
seems to agree better with the turkeys. 
4. About an ounce each per day. 5. 
Twice a day is considered about right 
for yarded turkeys. 6. Turkeys need 
plenty of fresh, green succulent food, 
such as. clover, lawn clippings or lettuce, 
Swiss chard, beet tops, cabbage or the 
curly kale. They must have green food 
to do well and should have all they can 
eat of it, and grain only twice a day. 
Almost any kind of fruit or nuts or 
olives suits them. If you want to leave 
any food always before them you might 
leave a box of granulated milk and an- 
other of bran. Always keep charcoal, 
grit and granulated bone before them. 
If you had a walnut orchard in which 
they could roam I would say leave a 
box of wheat where they can get to it 



208 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



and they will not overeat ; they will 
roam away and only go to it when hun- 
gry, but in a yard with nothing to oc- 
cupy or interest them, I think the bran 
would be better. Give them at least 
three or four times a week, onions 
chopped up and mixed with dry bran. 
The onions are a wonderful tonic to 
liver and kidneys and will do more to 
help you keep the turkeys healthy than 
anything. They are also a preventive 
to intestinal worms and roup. Fresh 
clean water as cool as possible is also a 
necessity. 



A Lack of Green Food — I have a torn 
turkey that is sick. He was a year old 
last May and about six weeks ago^he 
would not eat. He did not look sick, 
and would strut and gobble a little, but 
did not eat. I gave him Carters' liver 
pills and he soon got all right. About a 
week ago he began to get off his feed 
again, and I at once began to_ doctor 
him. Have given him liver pills and 
p-ermazone, but he has not eaten any- 
thing since last Wednesday. Can you 
tell me what ails him and what to do 
for him? He is a very valuable bird and 
I am anxious to have him get well. His 
usual feed is bran, barley meal^ alfalfa 
meal and beef scrap in the morning and 
wheat and kaffir corn at night, with 
nlentv of grit and oyster shell. — Mrs. 
G. H. B. 

Answer— I think your turkey requires 
more green food than you are giving 
him, as you only mention alfalfa meal. 
Give him now. a quinine pill (two 
grains) every night for a week. Add 
charcoal and chopped onions to his mash 
in the morning, and plenty of green food 
once or twice a day. Give him as large 
a range as possible, or if you cannot 
s-ive him range, let him out on your own 
lawn for two hours before sundown. 
What he needs is fresh green food and 
chopped onions for the liver tonic. 

Turkey's ChickEn-Pox — I have some 
young turkeys several months old. _ On 
the heads of some are round things 
like warts ; on one they are sore looking 
and are also on each knee joint of the 
legs. The turkeys don't appear sick. 
We have rubbed the heads with axle 
urease, as once before that seemed to 
help. What is the cause of this disease? 
How can one cure or prevent it and are 
the fowls good for food if they recover? 

My turkeys have free ranee and have 
plenty of animal food in the shape of 



bugs, etc., all summer, also of course, 
green food in as large a quantity as they 
cared for. I have only fed them wheat. 
Chicken ticks, these flat bugs are bad 
here, but the turkeys roost outside, so 
should not be bothered much. — M. A. 

Answer — Your turkeys have chicken- 
pox. It comes from a microbe which 
gains entrance under the skin from some 
slight abraison, such as a scratch, or the 
bite of an insect. It is very prevalent 
during the fall, but except in the case of 
very young chickens, is easily curable, 
and the remedies you are using will ef- 
fect a speedy cure. 

Carbolic salve or Kileroup is the usual 
cure — or you can wash the spots in hot 
soapsuds to get off the scab and then 
grease just only the spots. The carbolic 
acid in the salve kills the microbe. The 
turkeys are perfectly fit for food. You 
had better be sure the ticks do not crawl 
up the trees to the turkeys. Pour a 
little stream of crude petroleum at the 
foot of the trees to keep off the ticks. 



Turkeys — Will you kindly tell how to 
raise little turkeys without any milk, 
or can't it be done? We value your 
writing very much. — H. D. C. 

Answer — The milk that we use in 
feeding little turkeys, either as plain 
skim milk for them to drink or as a 
curd for them to eat, is given because 
it is found to be the best substitute for 
the insects that would be Nature's diet 
for the little turkeys. The next best 
substitute is hard boiled eggs, and after 
that ground-up meat, either raw or 
cooked. 

Here in Los Angeles we can get the 
granulated and the dried milk, and these 
make good feed, both for turkeys and 
chickens. I should think you could get 
either of these at the poultry supply 
houses in Santa Cruz. 



Sick GobelEr — I write again in re- 
gard to a fine gobbler. He was hatched 
last May. He has been sick abottt ten 
days. Just sits around and does not 
walk much. Eats very little, and his 
droppings are nearly all white and small 
in quantity. His food has been rolled 
barley, wheat, and we have nine acres 
in green barley. He has plenty of clean, 
pure water and is not lousey, as I dust 
my turkeys with insecticide every week. 
When he first drooped around I gave 
him some liver pills, but he does not get 
much better. I hope you may be able 



TURKEY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



209 



to tell me something that will help him 
as I should feel very badly to lose him. 
—Mrs. S. H. J. 

Answer — I would advise you first to 
stop dusting that gobbler with insect 
powder, as it may be disagreeing with 
him. Secondly, I would give him small 
liver pills, and at the same time, for at 
least a week, a pill of one or two grains 
of quinine every night. Also notice his 
droppings, if possible, because he may 
have intestinal worms, although the 
symptoms are more like kidney trouble. 



Tapeworm in Turkeys — I have over 
100 turkeys that seem to be healthy but 
do not grow as they should. I find now 
they are full of long worms, probably 
tape worms. What shall I do? — Mrs. 
L. B. D. 

Answer — If your turkeys have tape- 
worms, the best remedy I know is male 
fern (felix mas). It may be used in 
the form of a powder; (dose thirty 
grains to one dram) or of liquid ex- 
tract (dose fifteen to thirty drops). It 
should be given in the morning and ev- 
ening before feeding. Oil of turpentine 
is an excellent remedy for the common 
round worm ; dose one to three tea- 
spoonsful in an equal amount of castor 
oil. Feeding stewed garlic or raw 
onions will help the cure. 



Shipping Turkeys — Can turkey eggs 
be hatched successfully in an incuba- 
tor or are they more apt to die? Will 
it hurt the little turkeys to be carried 
on the car any great distance? — Mrs. 
A. P. 

Answer — Turkey eggs can be hatched 
in an incubator, if you don't mix them 
with other eggs, otherwise they do bet- 
ter under the hen. They can be raised 
in brooders, and it will not hurt them 
to travel on the cars if they do not get 
chilled. 



How Many Toms? — I want to ask 
you how many turkey toms I should 
have for 24 hens. I have two fine toms 
weighing about 22 pounds each. Their 
beards are well developed and they ap- 
pear to be very good birds. Will those 
two be enough for 24 hens?— Mrs. 
C. B. L. 



Answer — It really would be better to 
have three toms, but under the circum- 
stances I would rather risk having two 
good toms than to buy a third of un- 
known quality. 

The rule is one yearling torn to ten 
hens. One torn will do for twenty 
hens sometimes, but ten hens is about 
the best number. 



Liver Trouble — We are in trouble 
with our little turkeys, and would like 
to ask you to help us. They were fine, 
strong fellows until a few days ago, 
when "jur of them, suddenly died. I 
just noticed two of them, a little droopy 
in the afternoon, and four were dead the 
next morning. There was the slightest 
touch of diarrhoea noticeable, and I im- 
mediately put a little germazone in their 
water, and they have had it for several 
days. They have no signs of it now, 
but four more died last night, and sev- 
eral others are drooping. We made an 
examination this morning and found the 
liver all blotched and spotted all over 
in dark rings. That is all we could find 
wrong. The gizzard was healthy and 
full of grit and seemed perfect and in 
order. — Mrs. A. H. 

Answer — The spotted liver is all that 
killed them. It denotes congestion of 
the liver. This is usually brought on 
by wrong feeding, or overfeeding, but 
it also comes from their taking cold ; 
either from being too warm at night, 
under the chicken hen, getting them hot 
and sweaty, and then coming out in the 
morning into the cool, foggy air, which 
gives them a sudden chill. This would 
affect the liver, and make even the 
proper food disagree with them. They, 
may take cold and get a chill affecting 
the liver, from running in damp alfalfa ; 
or the chicken hen may drag them about 
and make the exercise too much, and 
this also would weaken their liver and 
make them susceptible to cold, which 
would affect their liver. I can only giv« 
you these suggestions, as I do not know 
all your conditions. One of the best 
remedies for diarrhoea in both chickens 
and little turkeys, is rice boiled in milk. 
with a tablespoonful of ground cinna- 
mon to everv pint of milk. Rice given 
even dry will help in a case of this kind. 



210 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



ABOUT DUCKS 



Duck Eggs vs. Hen Eggs— What dif- 
ference, if any, should there be in run- 
ning an incubator with duck eggs from 
hen eggs? I am very successful with 
hen eggs but never succeeded very well 
with duck eggs ; the same eggs hatch 90 
per cent under a hen, and the first test 
from the incubator is about 90 per cent 
and then they die in the shell— J. W. L. 

Answer — Duck eggs require different 
treatment than the hen eggs. After the 
first test when you take them, out to 
turn them, sprinkle them every day with 
warm water. Leave them out a few 
minutes to partially dry off, fan the stale 
air out of the incubator and then replace 
them. By this means I think you will 
have a better hatch. Duck eggs require 
more drying out than hen eggs and yet 
the shell must be dampened to make it 
brittle. Putting water into the incu- 
bator dees not do as well as sprinkling. 



F ood _Good and Bad— 1. Would let- 
tuce make good greens to sow in run- 
ways for Indian Runner ducks? 

2. Will some whole wheat hurt them 
if they are provided with grit? 

3. At what age should ducks hatched 
in March commence laying? 

4. Will beef suet and chopped fresh 
beef do to feed them?— Mrs. F. H. 

Answer — 1. Lettuce is good for all 
fowls and would be good for the ducks 
as long as it lasts, but I am afraid the 
little fellows would soon pull it all up. 

2. Whole wheat is not a"s good for 
little ducks as bran and corn meal. See 
article in this book. 

3. Indian Runners hatched in March 
will commence laying in September. 

4. Beef suet is not the food for 
ducks, but if you want to fatten them, 
you might add a little of it to their 
mash. 



Indigestion — What is wrong with my 
ducks? They are almost full grown, 
and they turn over on their backs and 
are unable to get up; they are very 
weak; their eves scale over and some 
of them have died. They act very much 
like chickens with the roup, only the? 
do not swell around the head.— Mrs. 
J. G. C. 

Answer— Your ducks are suffering 
from indigestion and also from their 
leads being stopped up. The indigestic 



comes partly from their not having suf- 
ficient sand with their food, and then- 
heads being stopped up, comes from the 
drinking vessel not being deep enough 
so they can rinse their nostrils out many 
times during the day. If you remedy 
these two causes of trouble in the duck 
yard and feed them properly, giving 
but little whole grain, I think they will 
soon recover. 

Incubator Ducks— We want_to know 
the proper way to operate an incubator 
to hatch ducks. I have had fairly good 
luck hatching chickens but not with my 
ducks. I got only 40 out of 112 fertile 
eggs, and this tim.e we should like to 
have' a few directions to go by. _ 

Do they require as much as chickens 
as to moisture; do you sprinkle, also 
how often, and as to airing the eggs, 
what time of day and how long do you 
advise to leave the machine open; how 
often do you test the eggs?— Mrs. W. 

Answer— Duck eggs require quite as 
much heat as those of the chickens ; 
they require more airing. Should be 
sprinkled with warm water once the 
first week, twice the second and every 
day thereafter, but do not put any water 
in the pans. Sprinkling the, eggs helos 
to make the shells more brittle so the 
ducks will get out easier. Test the Mn 
day and again about once every week to 
takeout the dead germs as they putnfy 
and are injurious to the rest When 
you air the esgs, which you should do 
twice a day. that is every twelve hours, 
fan the stale air out of the incubator 
and then close up. Commence to air the 
eo-o-s when vou commence to turn them, 
that is 48 hours after they have been 
in the machine. The air space in the 
ecrg should be at the large end. I think 
if vou follow the directions from, the 
maker of the machine, and these hints, 
you will have a good hatch. 

To Secure Fertility— I am. starting 
to raise Indian Runner ducks and want 
to ask you how many ducks to put with 
one drake of this variety, so as to se- 
cure the highest possible fertility ot 
e<r<r S without keeping unnecessary 
drakes ? I have a flock of 20 ducks and 
within a few days will be ready to start 
my incubator, so if you will kindly re- 
ply as soon as possible. I will be very 
much obliged to you. — L. F. R. 



ABOUT DUCKS 



211 



Answer — The number of Indian Run- 
ner ducks to one drake is ten. This has 
been found to be the best number for 
Indian Runners, although you can mate 
fifteen ducks to one drake and have good 
fertility. I want, however, to warn you 
that the eggs are not nearly so fertile 
in the fall and winter as they are in the 
spring, so you must not be disappointed 
if at least half of the eggs are infertile 
at this time of the year. To increase .the 
fertility, would advise you to increase 
the amount of animal food you are feed- 
ing. You can tell in five days of incu- 
bation whether the eggs are fertile and 
those that are not fertile should be re- 
moved from the incubator and can be 
used for cooking or eating. They are 
merely infertile eggs that have been 
kept in a warm place for five days, and 
are better than most store eggs. 



Weight at Ten Weeks — Will you 
please inform me what weight most of 
the duck men can put on Indian Runner 
ducks at ten weeks? — I. L. R. 

Answer — Indian Runners at ten weeks 
of age weigh as much as do the Pekins 
at that time, namely, about eight pounds 
per pair. They should be sent to mar- 
ket at from eight to ten weeks of age. 
After that the pin feathers develop, 
making them very hard to pick. I think 
you will be greatly pleased with the 
ducks when you try them. Their flesh 
is very delicious, fine grained and the 
bones are small. They have very much 
the flavor of the canvas-back, and I have 
heard, are sometimes sold instead of 
them. They are also the greatest layers 
of any known fowl ; the eggs are white 
and very delicious, with no strong taste 
like the eggs of other varieties of ducks. 



Feeding for Eggs — I bought some In- 
dian Runner ducks, thirty-six in all, and 
six drakes. They were laying up to the 
middle of December ; since that time 
have iayed none. I feed them about ev- 
ery thing that would come from a first- 
class hotel — bread, meat, oat and corn- 
meal mush, all kinds of vegetables and 
fruit. Three times a week I mix cracked 
corn and bran. I feed in the morning, 
twelve quarts, same amount at night. 
They have access to plenty of running 
water and keep perfectly clean. The 
pen is covered with forest leaves that 
makes it warm. What I want to know 
is, am I feeding right for laying later 
on ? Is it customary to pick them ? Does 
it affect their laying? I have over two 



hundred eggs engaged at 10 cents apiece. 
I want to raise all I can the coming 
season. — J. W. A. 

Answer — I think that your hotel waste 
may have rather more bread in it than 
is good for egg production. Indian 
Runner ducks usually stop laying in Oc- 
tober, commencing again in December, 
and getting into full lay in February. 
The best time for hatching Indian Run- 
ners is from the first of February to 
the end of July; the eggs are very fer- 
tile at such time. It may be that you 
are fattening the ducks too much, as 
overfat ducks do not lay well. They re- 
quire much more animal food than 
chickens. In their wild state they live 
on grasses, fish, frogs and insects, with 
but very little grain. If you think they 
are getting too much bread, you might 
save some of it for chickens, and in- 
crease the amount of meat ; keep them 
well supplied with coarse sand, grit and 
crushed oyster shells. 



Eggs, Goose and Duck — I would like 
to know what care duck and geese eggs 
should have when a hen is sitting on 
them instead of the goose or duck. 
Also, what feed should they have when 
first hatched ?— Mrs. J. A. P. 

Answer — Goose and duck eggs require 
more heat and a longer period of incu- 
bation than hens' eggs. Five goose 
eggs are sufficient to place under a hen, 
and be sure that she turns the eggs ev- 
ery day or the gosling will be a cripple. 
The goose eggs are heavy for a hen to 
turn, and for this reason, and also be- 
cause they require more heat, the hen 
should not have more than five to care 
for. From nine to eleven duck eggs 
are the number, for the same reasons, 
that should be given to a hen. 

Goose eggs require thirty days of in- 
cubation ; duck eggs twenty-eight. Hens 
are apt to desert them toward the last 
and should be watched, as they get tired 
of waiting for their chicks to come out. 
I also have had hens that were so much 
afraid of the queer, green looking babies 
they hatched out that they would kill 
them. They seem to know that they are 
not proper chickens. I feed the little 
geese hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine, and 
cracker crumbs moistened with water, 
and sprinkle a little sand on the food. 
This is the first food. The next day they 
get the same, with lettuce chopped fine. 
After this I add breakfast oats with it 
and bran. As early as possible I put the 



212 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



geese out on the lawn, take the hen 
away from them and put them into a 
box in the woodshed or kitchen, if the 
nights are cool, or if I am afraid of cats 
or other marauders. They do not re- 
quire heat after a few days, sometimes 
not after the first day. It depends upon 
the weather. 

Geese are the easiest of fowls to raise. 
They are a grazing bird and must have 
a pasture of something green to graze 
on. When young, they should not have 
whole grain, but a mash of bran and 
corn meal with a little animal food in it, 
and always grass or alfalfa to graze on. 

Ducks do well treated in the same 
way, remembering to give them a little 
sand with each meal. 



Died in the Shell — I had two hens 
sitting on duck eggs and the ducks all 
died in the shell. The eggs were pipped, 
but it seemed as though the ducks could 
not get out. I dipped the eggs the last 



six days in lukewarm water once a day. 
I opened two eggs and there was jelly 
around the ducks. Could you kindly let 
me know why and how it is, as I have 
two more hens setting? — Mrs. C. F. N. 

Answer — Sprinkle your duck eggs, if 
the weather is warm and dry, three 
times a week after the first week ; let the 
water be just as hot as you can bear 
your hand in, and sprinkle it out of a 
little sprinkling pot or use a whist 
broom to sprinkle the eggs with as you 
would clothes for ironing; leave the 
eggs damp for the hen to go on them. 
This is better than floating them in the 
water. Little ducks can be easily helped 
out of. the eggs and still live and be 
strong ; if they seem slow in hatching, 
bring them, into the house and put a 
warm damp flannel around them and 
place at the back of the kitchen stove, 
and I think they will then come out 
without assistance ; if not, help them 
out. 



GEESE 



Geese — I have a few geese and just 
lately they have started to lay; gather 
from four to six daily. Do you think 
by turning them daily I might save them 
up for incubation? About what degree 
should be kept up for them? I put 
seven eggs under a hen. Would you 
also tell me what should baby geese be 
fed?— J. W. 

Answer — You can keep geese eggs, 
by turning them every day, for three 
weeks. They take thirty days to incu- 
bate. The incubator should be about 
102^ for the first week and 103 after- 
wards. Five eggs is plenty to put under 
a hen. See instructions in this book for 
hatching duck eggs in an incubator. 
Treat goose eggs in the same way. Feed 
baby geese the same as baby ducks for 
the first week, gradually adding chopped 
lettuce until at least half their food is 
green food. Geese are grazing animals 
and require plenty of green, succulent 
food. They are very easy to raise and 
do not require brooder heat more than 
a few days. 



Toulouse Geese — First, I have a few 
geese. I had eight Toulouse goslings. 



I fed them boiled eggs, bread crumbs, 
oatmeal (dry), and sometimes clabber 
cheese with a lot of fine cut grass and 
young rye from the rye patch, as I have 
no lettuce yet, plenty of gravel and a 
pan of water, but they all die from a 
week to three weeks of age. Now, what 
is the cause and what can I do to raise 
the others, as I hate to lose them so 
bad.—Mrs. J. B. M. 

Answer — You feed your young geese 
wrong. Geese are grazing animals and 
need grass or young tender clover to 
eat. Next time you have any give them 
bran (three cups full) and corn meal 
(one cup full) moistened with water, 
with a teaspoonful of sand sprinkled 
over it. This should be fed every two 
hours, after the first day, when they 
should have nothing at all to eat, they 
should be turned out on the grass or on 
a clover lawn. From the very first they 
must have grass or clover to crop from. 
After the first week leave the food 
where they can get it all the time and 
they will feed themselves without any 
trouble. Geese are the easiest of all 
fowls to raise. They must not have 
water to swim in until they have their 
mature feathers. 



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The Greatest Known Remedy for Poultry Diseases 

Cures Roup, Cholera, Swellhead, 
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Everything for Poultry Keepers 

WE MANUFACTURE SEVENTY-TWO DIFFERENT ARTICLES for up- 
to-date progressive poultry men and women, ranging from Cyphers Mammoth 
Compartment Incubators holding 60,000 eggs at one filling, down to 10-cent 
trial packages of Lice Powder, and every article is warranted to be as repre- 
sented and is guaranteed to give satisfaction. Standard goods we manufac- 
ture and sell include the following: 




■^ STANDARD 
CYPHERS INCUBATOR 

Fire Proofed-lnsurable. 



Incubators 
Brooders 
Brood Coops 
Chick Shelters 
Brooder Stoves 
Leg I ands 
Egg Packages 
Egg Testers 
Caponixing Sets 
Scratching Pood 
Developing Food 
Chick Food 
Forcing Food 
Laying Pood 



Short-Cut Alfalfa 
Shredded Alfalfa 
Mealed Alfalfa 
Full-lVest Egg Food 
Nodi Charcoal 
Poultry Remedies 
Lice Powder 
Lice Paint 
Anti-Fly Pest 
Egg Preservative 
Napcreol (Disinfectant) 
Fumigating Candles 
Drinking Fountains 
Grit and Shell Boxes 



Food & Water Holders 
Roost Supports 
Rooting Paper 
Spray Pumps 
Powder Guns 
Wire Fencing 
Bone Cutters 
Chick Markers 
Bone Mills 
Root Cutters 
Nest Eggs 
Poultry Books 



No matter what incubator you own or may intend to buy, do not fail to 
send for the Cyphers Company's Big Free Book. Send for it today and be sure 
to get your copy before the first edition is exhausted. Address 

CYPHERS INCUBATOK CO. 

Home Offices, BUFFALO, N. Y. 



New York City, 
23 Barclay St. 

Kansas City, Mo., 
317-319 Southwest Blvd. 



Branches : 

Boston, Mass., 
12-14 Canal St. 

Oakland, Cal., 
2127-31 Broadway. 



Chicago, HI., 
329-31 Plymouth Court. 

London, England, 
123 Finsbury Pavement. 




EMERSON fc MUMFORD'S 
White Plymouth RocKs 

have been consistent winners for the last five years 
at the Great Los Angeles Show— the 

Madison Square of the Pacific. 

1908— 1st Hen; 1st, 3rd, 4th Cockerel; 1st, 4th Pullet; 1st Pen— 87 birds in 

t lip dri ^s 

1909— 3rd, 4th Cock;' 4th Hen; 1st, 3rd, 4th Cockerel; 1st Pullet; 1st Pen— 

78 birds in the class. 
1910— 1st Cock; 1st, 2nd Hen; 1st, 4th Cockerel; 2nd, 5th Pullet; 1st Pen— 

60 birds in the class. 
1911— 1st, 2nd Cock; 2nd, 3rd Hen; 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Cockerel; 1st, 2nd, 4th, 

5th Pullet; 1st Pen; 1st Breeding Yard — 163 birds in the class. 
1912— 3rd, 5th Cock; 2nd, 3rd Hen; 1st, 2nd, 3rd Cockerel; 2nd. 3rd, 4th 
Pullet; 1st Pen; 1st Breeding Yard — 158 birds in the class. 
At these five shows we have won Eighteen out *»f 

a possible Twenty-six Firsts— 
Twice as many as all our competitors combined. 
Six times as many as our nearest competitor. 
During this time, we have met and decisively de- 
feated every White RocK breeder of importance 
in California. 
Our flock has been bred in line for eight years. An Emerson & Mumford 
White Rock has generation after generation of strong, vigorous, prize-winning 
ancestors behind it. Birds of our breeding have been winning for years. They 
will win and breed winners for you. Free illustrated circular. 

EMERSON y MUMFORD 

1525 Third Avenue Los Angeles, California 



SEEDS 



Fine large stock, many of 
which we sell at lower 
prices than other firms, and 

money can't buy any better. Catalog of Everything for the 

Garden, free and postpaid. 



West Coast Poultry Foods 

We still make these old, reliable brands in our WEST 
COAST MILL. They can't be beat. Catalog of all kinds 
of Poultry Supplies, free and Postpaid. 

West Coast Seed House 

116-118 East 7th St., H ^ n *™ Los Angeles, Cal. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



002 839 729 



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